Fanning the Flames
by flipflops839
Summary: Amelia Kent is an ordinary young woman kidnapped by the Fellowship of the Sun with, to her annoyance, no idea why. There she meets Godric, a mysterious yet kind vampire and through him she meets Eric, a cold hearted jackass. Her life pretty much tumbles into chaos from that moment on. Godric/OC/Eric
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

The sound of kissing drew me out of my thoughts. I turned to my left and saw my co-worker, Ben, and one of my good friends locked in a serious embrace. There was some serious tongue action going on and, ugh oh god, Ben was starting to slip a hand up her skirt. This was obviously my cue to leave. Collecting my coat and bag, I tried to cough to draw their attention and when they continued to play tonsil tennis without so much as a blink my direction, I awkwardly waved and slipped out the bar.

I was immediately accosted by the smell of cigarette smoke and puke and I tried not to gag as I made my way across the road. The bar hadn't seemed nearly this bad when I had arrived. It was meant to be a small gathering of close friends to say farewell to me and a few others before we left Dallas for good next week. One drink had led to two and the next thing I knew we were all shit faced and struggling not to cry as we sang "our song." It was some awful pop song that we all loved for some inexplicable reason and I choked up - I probably wouldn't get a chance to sing it with them again for a while.

Taking shelter from the rain, which by now had drenched my hair and was slowly seeping through my flimsy coat, I rifled through my purse for my phone and money. Seriously – why is it always impossible to find what you're looking for in a bag? Pulling out my wallet, I struggled not to cry as I realised I only had three dollars left. What the hell – I had started the night with at least fifty in there. I hadn't spent all that on drinks had I? I racked my brain to figure what I had spent the money on and realised I didn't even know how many drinks I had had – I lost count after the sixth tequila shot. Shit

I should have accepted the lift from Jesse when I had the chance! Ugh, why am I so stubborn? Every time I go out and drink alcohol, for some reason, and I seriously don't know why, I can never remember the way home. My friends know this and always offer me lifts or make sure I have called a cab but this time I had been the last person left, well, apart from Alice and Ben.

I could go back in the bar and ask Ben and Alice for a lift but Alice has been in love with Ben for like sixty billion years and there was no way in hell I was going back in there and a) ruin their moment and b) have to witness more of their awkward seduction techniques. I only live like three blocks away, I'm sure walking will be fine – I mean, what could happen in three blocks?

Peering up at the rain in dismay, I put my purse over my head and tried to make a run for it. I didn't get very far. After about three steps I wobbled in my heels and fell to the curb on my knees. My knee immediately split open and started welling with blood, staining the edge of my dress a deep crimson and I started to giggle, not even feeling it. Clearly I was drunker than I thought.

Still giggling, I staggered to my feet and slowly made my home. I was going to miss this place when I left. Miss the city and all its nooks and crannies, the coffee shop down the street that sells the creamiest hot chocolate in the world, the house at the end of my block with the crooked fence and the creaky swing, my apartment with its leaky sink faucet and sky blue door. I didn't want to leave.

I turned left into the local park, thinking it would make an excellent short cut home and would cut my travel time in half. Obviously I had drunk way more than normal because even when tipsy I would have never done something so stupid.

If I had been sober, the way the trees creaked in the wind would have freaked me out, the way the shadows seemed slink around and follow me would have had me running away screaming and not looking back. Instead, like an idiot, I whistled and strolled through, daydreaming about the new light and airy house I had bought in Bon Temps. It was only when I heard the twig snap behind me that I realised I wasn't alone and before I could so much as draw a breath of air to scream my lungs out, I felt a sharp whack to the back of my head and everything went black.

* * *

Everything hurt. My back, my head, oh god my head, my butt – even my throat (how?). I tried to groan but all that came out was a raspy cough.

"Ugh."

Slowly, I tried to open my eyes but it felt like they were sewn shut. My heart started pounding and my breaths came faster. This was like something out of my nightmares. I would go to sleep and when I woke up no matter how hard I tried I couldn't open eyes. I have had this dreams so many times that now I started to wonder if I was really awake. In my nightmares my eyes still wouldn't open even if I tried to pry them desperately open with my fingers. So if I try to force my eyes open and it works I'm not in a nightmare?

I lifted my arm and it was like lifting a sack of bricks but I managed to gain enough control over it to force my eyelid open. Oh thank fuck – I can open my eyes! I gradually opened both eyes and blearily tried to make out my blurred surroundings but when my eyes came into focus I regretted my decision to open them. This was worse than my nightmares.

The first thing I noticed were the metal bars, the second was the vampire staring at the blood on my knee.

I screamed.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

I scrambled backwards so quickly I'm surprised I didn't bend time and space to get away from the vampire. In fact, I flew back so fast I hit my already injured head straight into a metal bar. I let out a pained yelp and whimpered, lifting a hand to feel the back of my head. Blood was matted to my hair and I could feel huge lump that made me flinch to touch.

"Are you well, little one?" The vampire's gaze had shifted from my bloody knee to my eyes and my shoulders relaxed slightly. If he were going to kill and drain me or whatever he would have done it while I was unconscious right?

"No. I have a raging hangover, a probable concussion and I have no idea where I am or how I got here." Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic. Just breathe.

The vampire, bless him (or not, considering the whole undead, cursed thing people like to rave about), still looked concerned for me. "What is the last thing you remember?"

I frowned. "Um – I think I was downing my fifth tequila shot at a bar with my friends? Wait, how long ago was that? This was on the eighteenth, what's the date now?"

"Do not fear, it is still the eighteenth. You have been unconscious in here for about two hours now but I do not know how long before that. From what I overheard from the humans who brought you here, they ambushed you on your way home from a bar. Judging by the way they talked, they knew you would be there. This appears pre-meditated."

"Yeah I remember now! I didn't have enough money for a cab so I decided to walk! Wow, that was dumb as shit." I sighed deeply and stared at the ceiling, questioning drunk-me's life choices.

To my surprise, the vampire chuckled. "It was certainly not wise."

We fell into silence, each lost in our own thoughts. Where the hell was I? Why was I here? Who took me? More importantly, what were they going to do with me? My fear grew bigger and bigger, a swirling mass clamping down on my chest and blocking my throat as I imagined all the awful scenarios that could happen. Don't cry. Don't cry. I took a few deep breaths and counted to one hundred in my head and slowly my panic subsided enough for me to start to thinking clearly and find a way to get answers. My fellow prisoner was obviously my first option. He clearly wasn't here by choice either if he was trapped in the cage with me.

"Where are we? Do you know who took us? Do you know why they took us?" I broke the silence that had settled over us and was startled by how loud my voice sounded.

He stared at me, searching my face for… something, although I don't know what it was. "You mean, you don't know why you are here?"

I stared at him flatly. "Well duh, why would I have asked if I already knew?"

His eyes flickered with amusement and his mouth twitched up in a slight smile. It was then I noticed that actually, the guy was really quite hot. Dark hair, dark eyes, perfectly symmetrical face and amazing bone structure. He looked young, maybe a year or two younger than my twenty-one years, although that didn't really tell me anything considering he was vampire.

His face once again fell into a mask of sombre contemplation and then I started to question whether or not it was really mask at all – we were both in a bit of a sticky situation after all. "We are in the basement of a church, more specifically, a church owned by the Fellowship of the Sun. I cannot imagine you are here for anything good."

"Who?" Fellowship of the Sun? Did some sort of weird nerd cult kidnap me? Or worse, an actual cult that wanted to use me as some kind of human sacrifice? "Oh wait, I have heard of these guys! Are you fucking kidding me? I was kidnapped by some idiotic, vampire hating religious zealots?"

"Unfortunately, I am not joking, little one."

"Hey! I'm not that short – I stand at five foot three inches thank you very much." I sniffed. "But seriously, what would they want with me? I thought they targeted fang-" I cut myself off. I was about to use the word fangbanger but I didn't think the vampire would appreciate that particular term of endearment for his mortal friends. "I mean, vampire enthusiasts. You're the first vampire I have ever really spoken to."

He tilted his head to the side in a gesture that suddenly reminded me that he wasn't human. I don't know what it was about it but it was eerily similar to the way animals like dogs and big cats tilt their heads. Out of everything that he had done that night - staring at my blood, the haunted, ancient look in his eye – I don't why it was a simple head tilt that had reality crashing down on me. I was stuck. I was stuck in a cage with a vampire, who probably hadn't eaten in a while and I had no escape.

He must have noticed a change in my expression or heartbeat or however it is that vampires read people, because he reached a calming hand out but I flinched back immediately, staring at him with unbridled fear.

"Sh, its ok, young human. I will not hurt you."

I stared at him suspiciously.

"If I had wanted to hurt you, would I not have already done it by now?"

"You may not want to hurt me now, but who knows how long we will be down here – you're going to get hungry eventually."

"While I may have posed a threat to you if I were a younger vampire, that it is not the case now. I am old enough that I need very little blood to sustain me. You are quite safe. At the very least, you are safer here in this cage with me than you are with the humans upstairs." He stared at me imploringly, once again searching my face for something I did not know I had.

He looked so serene, so earnest that I found myself believing him. I couldn't help myself. I didn't know if this was a mistake or not – my mom did always say that my biggest weakness was my trust and belief in people and that it was going to get me killed one day. But at this point – what else did I have to lose? Plus, the guy had a point – I probably was safer down here with him. And if he did decide to kill me there really wasn't anything I could do about it so I might as well give the guy the benefit of the doubt.

I gave him a shaky smile and his face returned the gesture, although his smile was much smaller and far less watery.

"I'm Amelia Kent but I prefer to be called Mila." I held my hand out for him to shake.

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face and he took my hand. His was firm and strong and I could tell he contained a lot of power – like a hell of a lot of power, more than I could ever understand, but I assumed it was positively gentle for a vampire.

"My name is Godric."

I gave him an actual smile now. "Cool."

"May I ask why you prefer to be called Mila?"

"Yeah, sure. Its kind of silly really. When we were little, my younger brother couldn't say Amelia, he tried but all he could say was Mila and, I guess it just kind of stuck." I heard him huff in amusement and I smiled again.

We stared at each other for a bit, me still smiling like an idiot and him regarding me with calm yet expressionless face. When I realised I was staring I blushed and quickly looked away, not wanted to appear rude.

"So, Godric, why are you here? Did they kidnap you too?" That seemed quite strange to me, didn't vampires have like super strength or something?

"No, they did not kidnap me. That would be impossible. I am here through… unfortunate circumstances."

Well that was the biggest non-answer I had ever heard. Raising an eyebrow at his non-answer, I shifted so I was sitting cross-legged across from him. "That was very mysterious."

He didn't reply.

Feeling awkward I tried once again to strike up conversation – anything to stop myself from thinking about why I was here. "I would do anything for some aspirin right now."

"It has been a long time since I have suffered from a prolonged injury, vampires heal very quickly, so I cannot relate to you but I hope your pain eases soon." The look of concern was back on his face and I was kind of touched.

I giggled. "How old actually are you? You speak very formally. Is it because you don't know me or is it because you learnt how to speak in another time?" I didn't know if this was considered a rude question in vampire etiquette like it was to ask an older person their age but I was really very curious.

"I am old – even by vampire standards."

Another cagey answer. It just made me all the more curious. "Two hundred? Three hundred? Five hundred?!" he only smiled mysteriously. I huffed. "I'm twenty one years old?" Maybe if I told him how old I was he would feel obligated to return the sentiment. He didn't. The vampire just smiled again.

"You are so very young."

"Hey! Wait, does that mean I'm like a baby to you? Are all humans like children to you?! That must be so strange. Are we very boring to you? I mean you guys have seen so much, we can't have much to say that haven't already heard before." The questions were just leaping out of me and I had to make a conscious effort to stop and let him speak. This was a pretty shit situation but at the very least I would probably never get an opportunity like this again to ask a vampire so much. I was so so curious.

"No, I do not view you like a child. It is difficult to explain and I don't think you could ever understand how vampires view humans, especially young humans, without actually being one." I sighed in disappointment. He continued, "I do not view humans as boring, although I do know many vampires who do. Honestly, I find you fascinating." There was a glimmer of something in his eyes but I had no idea what it was. It seemed like regret but I knew that wasn't quite it – I had never met anyone so difficult to read, it came quite naturally to me but I think I could spend an eternity observing him and I would never quite get it.

"Really? I stared at him sceptically. "You think humans are fascinating?" I couldn't help but think of all the dumb stuff I had seen humans pull throughout my life.

He smiled slightly at my obvious disbelief. "Really."

"Why?"

He opened his mouth to answer but he suddenly became alert and at once he went from clam man to lethal predator quicker than my eyes could ever follow. He stared at the door intently and I was so scared, so filled with anticipation that I held my breath, not moving a muscle.

After what felt like forever, but what must have actually been about five minutes (I had had to take a breath eventually), I heard a door unlock. Light flooded into the tiny basement and I noticed a flight of stairs that it had been to dark to see before. Then my heart stopped and restarted again, this time trying to beat straight out of my chest. I could hear footsteps. Someone was coming.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone!**

 **Thank you so much for all your reviews - they are so lovely and motivate me so much!**

 **Sorry I haven't updated in so long - my life is kind of a mess at the moment but hopefully it will be sorted soon.**

 **Constructive criticism is always welcome and if you see any mistakes please don't hesitate to point them out!**

 **Anyway, here is the next chapter - enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own True Blood or The Southern Vampire Mysteries nor any of the characters. I only own Amelia. I hope this is taken as a work of appreciation and love as is its intended purpose!**

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

The footsteps descended into the basement, the dull sound of them hitting the wood in a musical harmony with my heartbeat. Thump. Thump. Thump. Terror froze my muscles, terror at the unknown, faceless assailant. I had dealt with a lot of shitty situations in my life but nothing made me more scared than the delusions of a fanatic.

As our unknown jailer stepped further and further into the room, more and more light flooded in until I could see the entirety of the basement where we were being kept. Before, I could vaguely make out the metal bars of our prison thanks to the moonlight streaming in from a window in the far the corner. Now, I could see that this basement was mostly used for storage. We were surrounded by musty cardboard boxes that stretched out on all sides of us around the cage, which appeared to be the central feature of the room – the main attraction.

In this new light, I could see Godric's face far more clearly, and boy was I wrong in my previous assessment of him. Before, I had thought he was hot but clearly I had been using the wrong adjective. He was breath taking. The only word that could really be used to describe him was beautiful. I distantly wondered if this was a trait all vampires shared or if Godric was just special. The vampire was tense, all his muscles coiled tightly, reigning in a strength I could only dream about. He looked like a snake, prepared to strike.

Slowly, and with dread like a leaden force dragging my stomach straight to my feet, I turned to face our captor.

It was kind of anticlimactic. The clean, fresh face of Steve Newlin stared intently at us through the bars, a bright, plastic smile plastered onto his face.

"Well, howdy, folks."

I stared in disbelief. _This_ was the evil mastermind?

"What the actual fuck."

"Language! The Lord punishes those who use profanity, little lady. Although, I'm sure you have sins a lot greater than just simple swear words to worry about."

"What, like kidnapping people?" I responded dryly, lifting my eyebrow.

His gaze went from Godric to me and grudgingly I could see how he had amassed a cult behind him. His eyes held a certain charisma that most people tend to be drawn to but that charisma could easily switch to mania given the right circumstances.

He chuckled and a shiver of disgust ran up my spine. "I am not sinning. This leech here isn't a person and you, well; in the Lord's eyes you are even worse. Betraying your own race and turning away from the Light for one of Hell's minions. Its disgusting."

"This would be far more effective, I'm sure, if I had any idea what you're talking about. However, as it stands, I'm clueless. Please enlighten me as to what my supposed _great_ sins are." Seriously, before tonight I had never even spoken to a vampire, what on earth could they want with me? I mean, I'm not a Christian but I doubted that would warrant my kidnapping. After all – there were a hell of a lot of non- Christian people out there, why would they choose me when I didn't even know any of them?

"Don't play dumb with me. You think you can save one of these – these – _parasites_ ," he practically hissed the word, "without facing God's wrath?"

And then it dawned on me and suddenly everything made sense. I couldn't believe it, all I could do was stare at the Reverend in unadulterated horror. I simply couldn't understand how a single person could be so stupid, so _ignorant_.

Distantly I noticed Godric staring at me with a renewed curiosity but all I could really focus on was the sheer absurdity of the situation.

"But – I'm a – How-" I sputtered, not able to even form words. " _Its my job!_ "

Godric stared at me in clear interest now and the Reverend Newlin just scoffed. "That's not your job, where in your job description does it say you should save fangers? It doesn't – I have read the code myself. You're doing the devil's work, is what it really is."

I continued to stare at him with wide eyes, my mouth gaping open. " _I'm a fire-fighter!"_

Understanding flashed on Godric's face and then he was once again wearing his blank mask.

"Save your excuses, you evil whore of Satan, we have plans for you – to cleanse you of your sins and bring you back into the light." And with that he threw a water bottle into the cage and marched back up the stairs, plunging us back into darkness. I couldn't stop the fear that had slid down my spine at his words – what did they intend to do to me?

"What do you think they'll do to me?" I asked Godric in a small voice, hating my vulnerability and that I couldn't control my fear. This was ridiculous! I was a fire fighter – I risked my life everyday, this was nothing compared to some of the things I had seen and done! But I couldn't help it and worry still held me captive.

"Don't worry, young one, I will not let any harm come to you." We stared at each other again. His eyes were really hard to look away from – I don't know if it was because he was pulling some kind of vampire hypnosis trick on me (they could do that right?) or if it was because he was that fascinating but either way I couldn't pull my eyes away.

A loud thump from upstairs made me jump, breaking our intense eye contact and I couldn't help but feel relieved – intense eye contact was just not my thing.

I made my way over to the corner of the cage and attempted to gracefully sit down on the floor – instead I just kind of exhaustedly flopped down. I started to shiver and looked down in surprise – shocked to find that my clothes and hair were damp – how did I not notice that before? It must of have been the adrenaline but now that there were no immediate threats – in the form of vampire (or so I hoped – Godric could still decide to eat me) or human – it had worn off. I thought about it and realised I had gotten soaked to the bone in the rain on my way from the bar. God, I hated drunk me so much. Now that I realised I was damp, I also realised I was fucking freezing. I started to shiver violently and curled up in a ball on the floor, trying to preserve my heat. Of course, because I noticed how cold I was, things just had to snowball from there and I was once again aware that my head was pounding, from the beating I took and my serious hangover. To top it all off I was exhausted.

I lay there on the floor, in a ball of misery and self-pity, momentarily forgetting about Godric until he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Mila, you appear to be very cold and in your current situation, with your head wound, it would be very unwise for you to continue to wear your damp clothes. If we are not careful you may develop hypothermia."

"Oh, wow, I had never noticed that before. You're right, Godric, let me just pull out a spare change of clothes and a blanket that I happen to keep handy on me at all times." My voice dripped with sarcasm and I raised my head to pointedly glare at him. I expected him to growl (vampires can do that right?) or get mad at me for my blatant disrespect but instead a smile briefly flickered over his face. This guy was _way_ too good-natured for his own good – I would have lost it at me ages ago.

"Actually, I was going to suggest you wear my shirt instead. It is thicker than your dress and has long sleeves. You are small enough that it should cover more of you than you current clothes do." He maintained steady eye contact, not once glancing over my form and I gave him some serious kudos. In the whole time I had been here he hadn't once had straying eyes, which took some serious self-control. I had been wearing a flimsy clingy dress to begin with and with the addition of the rain it had been clinging to me in a way that didn't leave much to the imagination. I tried to hate drunk me for wearing this dumb dress, but honestly the blame actually lies with sober me.

I was desperate to cover up – being in a church with a bunch of religious lunatics looking like, well, like I made my living doing things the Bible really does not approve of filled me with stone cold terror. But, that being said, it was my choice to wear these clothes and Godric shouldn't have to suffer for my mistake.

"Thanks, that's really nice of you and stuff but won't you get cold? I mean I know its Texas but we _are_ in a basement – it can very easily get cold down here."

"Vampires do not feel the cold and we do not get sick. It is no trouble for me."

Vampires don't get – " _Woah_! Dude, seriously? That's so cool! So you could like, just walk round the Arctic in your underwear?"

He chuckled. "We could; but I would not recommend it – the scientists there do not take kindly to naked vampires interrupting their research."

This time I actually laughed, the first time I had done so since landing in this shit storm. "That's awfully specific – are you talking from first hand experience?" I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively.

"No. Although, I do have a… dear friend," he smiled fondly, "who thought it was a good idea."

I laughed again, dying to know more when he frowned. The laugh died in my throat. It sounds stupid but when an ancient being of far more power than you could ever know frowns, even if it's not _at_ you, its still disconcerting.

"We can talk after you have dry clothes on, your lips appear to be going blue."

And then, because apparently I care more about my pride than I do about my life, my stubborn side kicked in. You see, despite the fact that my job revolved around taking orders, I had some serious… lets call it issues, with authority. If someone politely asks me to do something, that's cool – I literally jump at the chance to help them (my mom thinks I'm too much of people pleaser), however, as soon as someone demands that I do something, it doesn't matter what it is, I straight up refuse (my dad, coincidently, thinks that I don't care _enough_ about what other people think). Unfortunately, my brain decided that this was the opportune moment for my problem with authority to flare up. "No."

Godric blinked. "No?"

"No."

He looked hilariously bemused, like a small puppy, and I had to hide a smile. The expression looked strange on him though, like he hadn't made it in a few hundred years, which, considering his immortality, could very well be the case. I wasn't stupid enough to think that the expression was involuntary. He had so far demonstrated just how good he was at masking his emotions – I was only seeing this because he wanted me to; it was oddly touching.

"May I ask why you do not want my shirt?"

"Because—"

I choked on my saliva.

Just as I was about to launch into a long and probably ridiculous speech about why I didn't need his shirt, he took it off in one swift motion.

That sneaky bastard; distracting me with his good looks so that I would inadvertently accept his stupid top. I hated to admit it but it was working. I couldn't do anything but stand there and stare. All I could see was pale smooth skin and a firm chest that was covered in what looked like tribal tattoos. Shit, this was not good. Why was he so hot? This would have been so much easier if he wasn't so goddamn attractive!

I was brought back to earth when he cleared his throat again, and I belatedly realised he had been standing there holding the shirt out to me for who knows how long while I stood there and ogled him. I did that humiliating full body blush thing and immediately looked away. This was so embarrassing. I silently accepted the shirt while staring at a spot over his shoulder, refusing to look at him again. Out of the corner of my eye I could see his small smile had blossomed into a full on smirk, and that was as bad a sign as any – it meant he knew what he was doing!

I swiftly peeled off the damp clothes and changed into his shirt whilst he politely faced the wall and immediately felt a lot better. His shirt was really soft, clearly made from some super expensive fabric, and faintly smelt of a really nice expensive cologne. The guy had taste.

We sat back down on the floor, resuming our previous position of facing each other cross-legged. I was putting all my energy into looking at his face and not his half naked body, even though I was dying to examine the tattoos that decorated it.

I suddenly straightened, looking alarmed and Godric tensed. "Oh shit! I'm so sorry! I forgot to thank you for giving me your shirt – it was kind of you. Thank you, Godric." I smiled sunnily, showing all my teeth – I always found that my smiles looked more genuine that way. Sometimes I tried to smile at people reassuringly when I rescued them but I always found my closed lip smiles never worked as well as my toothy ones.

Godric's eyes softened and he stared at me intensely, searching my eyes for something _again_. Seriously, you would think my eyes contained the Holy Grail he was looking into them so much. Who knows what he wants from me.

I shifted, uncomfortable under his gaze and pretended that tracing patterns on the floor was the most fascinating thing I had ever done. Like I said, intense eye contact is not my thing.

"So," I drew the syllable out after a few moments of silence, "we have had some serious bonding time right here, really, we are pretty much best friends now; and that means you can tell me why you're here, in fact, its pretty much a requirement of our new found friendship." I tilted my head and gave him my best Bambi impression.

That ghost of a smile appeared again. "Nice try."

I slouched and pouted, fluttering my eyelashes in a way that was supposed to be persuasive but probably looked like I have an itch. "Pretty please?"

"No. You are very nosy – I am surprised you are not a police officer. "

"Ha," I snorted rather unattractively. "My mom is a cop – my nosiness is a by-product of being raised by her. She would cry with laughter if she heard you say that."

"Why?" A little frown appeared on his brow and he tilted his head to the side curiously. "Does she not think you would make a good officer?"

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, changing the subject so I won't keep questioning you. I will let you off because you lent me your shirt but I _will_ get the answer out of you before dawn." I pointed a sharp finger at him and narrowed my eyes.

"I am very old and very good at hiding my secrets, you not will get answers from me tonight." He looked amused but that was a good thing – he was being lulled into a false sense of security. People always underestimated me and it always came back to bite them in the ass later.

I smirked knowingly at him and arched a brow, acting like the cocky little shit that I am (according to my friends) but, hey, hanging out with arrogant fire fighters all day did that to a girl. Godric huffed out a laugh, somehow making it elegant when on a human it would have been rather unattractive. Damn it – were all vampires this effortlessly beautiful?

"Do you want to make a bet?" I asked, grinning.

He cocked an eyebrow, pretending to look thoughtful before shrugging and holding out his hand. "I do. "

I clapped my hands together victoriously. "Yes! " I shook his hand enthusiastically before pausing. "What are the stakes? I should warn you, as a fire fighter I do not earn much, like at all. I'm pretty much broke."

"I do not want your money. The stakes should be set by you – you did make this bet."

"Hm, I don't know what's valuable to a vampire, apart from blood, I guess, but I am not offering you that."

"And I would not ask it of you." He paused. " I have an idea."

I perked up, excited. "Yeah?"

He smiled mischievously then and I knew I was in trouble. "If I win, you have to give me a kiss. If you win, I have to give you a kiss."

"No way! The forfeit can't be the same either side! How about, if you win I have to give you a kiss but if _I_ win I get to keep this swanky shirt you lent me?"

"That is acceptable."

Score! This shirt was outrageously soft- it would make the perfect nightdress. We shook hands. I had two options ahead of me: spend all night freaking out and imagining increasingly awful scenarios for myself or devote my time and energy into the distraction presented to me in the form of a mystery. Boy, he did not know what he was in for – I learnt information extraction and interrogation techniques from the best. By dawn, I will know why he is here.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone!

Thank you so much for your reviews they mean so much! I can't believe I already have a new chapter, I wrote it so quickly! However, it is a bit shorter than the last one and more serious.

I have given this chapter a suicide trigger warning as there is a lot of discussion about it.

Rated M: strong language, discussion of suicide.

Again, constructive criticism is welcome.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

"You were a priest in a past life?"

Godric shook his head.

"You like to hang out in churches?"

Another shake of his head.

"You… accidentally fell into a portal that magically led you to the basement of this church?"

He levelled me with a flat look.

"Oohh, I know! You're from the future and you were sent back in time to prevent a disaster implemented by an evil organisation that changes the world forever; the Fellowship of the Sun is that organisation and they're trying to stop you!"

Godric gives an exceptional stop-bullshitting-me face, I am, quite frankly, very impressed. I have been on the receiving end of that look all my life but no one has ever been able to nail it the way Godric does. It makes me wonder if there is someone in his life who has caused him to perfect it.

I sighed dramatically and fell back onto the floor. "This isn't fair! You're impossible to read," I whined, pouting up at him. "Can you give me one teeny weeny little hint?"

He smiled at my theatrics but gave another shake of his head, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

I huffed and spent a few more minutes sulking on the floor. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I lost? Godric is beautiful and has been around for a long time; I bet a kiss from him would be like nothing I had ever experienced before – it definitely wouldn't be a bad thing. But, on the other hand, I couldn't let him win – my pride just cannot take that, especially after boasting so much. To be honest, if I win, I might just kiss him anyway because I do not want to miss out on this _golden_ opportunity.

I sat up with a renewed determination. "Alright, Godric, prepare yourself – I'm taking out the big guns."

He just continued to eye me with amusement.

"Ok, how would my mom do this?" I pondered, racking my brain. I imagined her standing in front of me, a stern look on her face as she coached me through deciphering evidence. When I was little, she had really wanted me to become a cop, just like her.

So, first she would establish what we did know. Fact: Godric is locked up in the basement of the Fellowship of the Sun. Fact: he is very strong and it would be almost physically impossible for them to kidnap him. He had also told me himself that they had not kidnapped him, which further supports the facts I have established. Putting all this information together can only lead to one answer: he wanted to be here.

I stared up at him in shock. "You're here of your own free will," I whispered, "you want to be here."

I was horrified – why would he want to be here? These people were awful and full of hate – they probably had some terrible, deluded things planned for him and he was just- just - chilling in the basement.

Godric's lips parted in shock. He stared at me, something old and dark that I couldn't identify burning in his eyes. He seemed to take a moment to steady himself before his blank mask fell into place. "That does not explain _why_ I am here. That was our bet." His voice was calm, serene, like he hadn't been a vortex of swirling emotions moments before. I was surprised he had let me see them considering I'm a complete stranger, and a human at that.

I eyed him through narrowed eyes. Why was he here? There were a multitude of possible reasons as to why he was here and I had just spent three hours going through them all and getting nowhere. I needed a new angle, instead of looking at why Godric wanted to be here, I should instead look at why the _Fellowship of the Sun_ would want him here.

As I had established previously, it can't be for anything good. The Fellowship can only want two things from a vampire: to punish them or to receive some sort admission of guilt or penance from them. This had to be a very big deal for the Fellowship, while they had a lot of support; they were still only a fringe group and were considered too extreme for most Christians. They needed to make an event out of Godric, probably in an attempt to gather as much media coverage as they could. I suspected that this would rule out punishing Godric - hurting an unwillingly participant would be slated by the media, and I doubt they would be able to force any vampire to do something against their will, let alone a vampire as strong as Godric claimed to be. But, what _would_ look good in the eyes of the media and what would bring in masses of support is a vampire willingly subjecting themselves to the Fellowship's punishment and admitting that vampires were wrong.

And then it clicked. The dark look in Godric's eyes, the Fellowship's willingness to let him in the basement, why he was even here.

"You want to die."

What had started out as a fun bet to distract myself had quickly turned into a nightmare. I didn't want him to die – I had never met anyone as gentle or kind as him, human or otherwise. It felt like there was something blocking my throat and I could feel tears well up in my eyes, which was ridiculous – I barely knew him. Why was I so bothered? Was it because he was my only companion in this hellish cage? Was it because he had been kind to me in my hour of need? Or was it simply because he seemed too _good_ to die, like he doesn't deserve it. Was it a mixture of all three?

He knew the moment I had figured it out – I hadn't needed to open my mouth, he was already on the other side of the room, engulfed by the darkness and hiding his face in the shadows so I couldn't try see what he was feeling.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Why do you care?" His voice was still eerily calm, like before, as though we were discussing the weather and not his planned suicide.

I read this quote once, a few years ago, I can't remember where its from but for some reason it has always stuck with me, it went something along the lines of: " _suicidal people don't want to die; they want to start living_."

I'm not sure if this could be applied to vampires who were far older and far wiser than me but I was going to goddamn well try. This wasn't the first time I had talked down a suicidal person and it probably won't be the last – fire fighters often have to do it if a cop isn't available.

"I care because you are good and have been kind – you don't appear to deserve this. All life is important and it would be a tragic waste if you were to die. Its my job to save people – I can't just sit back and let you die without at least trying to help you – its my duty as a fire fighter and my duty as a person."

He laughed humourlessly and I felt a chill run up my spine – it wasn't intended to be threatening but it was scary all the same. "I am not kind and I am certainly not good; I have committed many unforgivable sins in my long life – I do not deserve to live. I look at this world and all I see is darkness and hatred; vampires take and take and take while giving nothing back. We torture people for fun and we do not care who we hurt. When we kill we feel nothing. I do not want to stay in a world so corrupted by darkness."

Well shit, this was so much worse than I thought.

"Dude," he blinked at the term, "you are wrong for so many reasons and I don't even know where to begin."

He looked surprised, like no one has ever spoken to him like that before which shocks me, considering how wrong he is.

"First of all, even if everything you said was true and even if you are right – this is not the right way to go about committing suicide. You are fuelling a movement of hatred and intolerance and essentially telling them that they are right. And its not just you that this effects. By doing this they are gaining momentum and their messages of homophobia, racism, sexism and basically everything wrong with humanity will start reaching more people. Also, what about new vampires? Created after you guys "came out the coffin" or whatever? By supporting this group you are telling them that they are monsters – you are telling their families that they are monsters and vampires who may well have turned out to be kind and considerate may well become the monsters you claimed they are just because that's the only identity ascribed to them." The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. For someone so supposedly wise, he was being really fucking dumb.

"I—" he tried to interrupt.

"Sh, I'm not finished yet! The fact is – you are wrong, you are not right. I may not know anything about vampires but I do know not all of them are as awful as you say they are. That vampire I rescued? Her friends all risked their lives trying to go back and save her and if they hadn't told us she was still in the building, she would have died there. They risked burning alive in the sun for that. And even if vampires are as awful and evil as you say they are, don't you have a responsibility, as one of them, to change that? You can't just look around you and see how awful everything is and go, oh, well, that's it for me, better pack it in then." I was in full-blown rant mode now and nothing was stopping me. "To be very cliché here, be the change you want to see in the world."

"Are you done yet?"

"No," I snapped. "If you have done terrible things in your life you have a responsibility to make up for it, especially if other members of your community are continuing them – you can't just decide to back out and leave the mess you helped create for others to clean up. And lastly, do you not have anyone in your life that would miss you? Or be devastated by your death? Don't you at least owe them a goodbye?"

"What makes you think I did not say my farewells?"

"Because you're here. I don't think other vampires would think this is a good idea. If you have felt this way for along time, you should have at least sought help before deciding to end it, especially with no explanation or goodbye to your loved ones."

We descended into silence. I was wondering if I had been overly harsh, I was putting on a bit of an indignant front in the hopes that it was the kind of message he needed to hear – I was praying I hadn't majorly fucked up. I have no idea what Godric was thinking but its probably something along the lines of _wow, Milia was right, I am acting like an idiot and should thank her for her great insight!_ OK, probably not, but a girl could dream.

I was shocked that he had just sat there and listened to my really insulting speech, I mean, I hadn't held back any punches. He had just sat tin his dark corner, saying nothing. Oh my god, what if I have just deeply insulted him and he is too hurt to say anything? Do I apologise or wait for him to say something? I think I will wait (shut up, I'm not being a chicken).

For the next hour, as sunlight slowly started to trickle into the room, touching us with warmth and bathing us in an orange glow, I mentally debated with myself on whether or not to apologise. Why hasn't he said anything yet? Was he a sore loser and didn't want to admit that he had lost the bet? Wait, no, that was a stupid thought, ignore that. God, I am going to have be a responsible adult and initiate conversation to apologise. I hate myself – why did I ever make this stupid bet in the first place?

I awkwardly cleared my throat. His head snapped up to look at me and I realised he must have forgotten I was even there.

"Look, Godric. I'm really sorry." My voice was scratchy from lack of use. " I have overstepped here and forced myself into your private thoughts and affairs when I shouldn't have. I am sorry for the things I said."

He gave a soft smile. "Don't be."

What? "What?"

"You were mostly right – I was avoiding my problems. I do have a responsibility to right my wrongs and to the people who love me. However, you were presumptuous; you do not know vampires or how we think – I still stand by what I said. I have thought over your words, and, while you do have good points, I have not changed my mind. In two nights time, I shall meet the sun."

Well shit.

* * *

So sorry about all the cliffhangers, guys!

Next chapter will be a bit more fun and a bit longer. Plus, we will finally get to meet Sookie!


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey Everyone!**

 **I can't believe how quickly I am updating! Thank you so so so much for all your reviews - they motivate to write so much more faster and I love reading them!**

 **This chapter is when the plot finally starts moving along and its the last one set in the basement - yay! This chapter is also the longest one yet!**

 **Rated M: strong language, discussion of suicide, violence.**

 **Again, as always, constructive criticism is welcome.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

Sunlight streamed into the basement, creating a golden halo around the cage, making the metal glisten.

Godric appeared to be sleeping in the corner, the biggest part of the cage that escaped the sun. I was confused; isn't the sun supposed to kill vampires? Surely just staying in the shade and out of direct sunlight wasn't enough? I thought vampires slept underground in coffins? Some of that cannot be true considering Godric was still, you know, alive. Or undead or whatever. I sighed, this was not how I was planning on spending my Saturday afternoon.

I _should_ have been at home, snuggled up in my bed, probably fighting off a hangover as my roommate, Cecily, snored loudly in the next room. _Instead_ , I was curled up on the hard concrete floor of a basement, wondering if I was going to survive to see Monday, with a stupid, stubborn, suicidal vampire who refused to listen. I sighed loudly again.

After ranting at him had gotten me nowhere, I quickly changed tactics, naming everything I could possibly think of that would make him want to live. It went something like this:

"You know, they are making a new Star Wars series, you should probably stick around until they're all released– don't want to miss out on that."

Unimpressed stare.

Or:

"Do you know what I really love? Baths. I love a good bath with a bath bomb and some bubbles, bit of wine, some cute candles – heavenly. You know, that might be worth living for."

Unimpressed stare.

I just kind of blabbered at him for a few hours and eventually he had fallen asleep, which was very rude, if you asked me. Maybe he was pretending to sleep in order to get me to shut up. Hm. I hadn't thought of that.

Looking around our grim, little cage, I found a small stone that must have chipped off the wall. I picked it up, weighed it in my hand, and threw at the sleeping vampire. It sailed in a magnificent arc, aiming straight for his face. Just as it was about to land on his nose, the air blurred slightly and the stone was caught in Godric's hands. I was deeply impressed – he hadn't even opened his eyes!

"Ha!" I exclaimed, "I knew it! You _are_ awake! I knew no one could sleep in a position like that."

Godric had been sitting in the corner with no support, back completely straight with his head up, staying so unnaturally still I didn't think he was even breathing. Wait – did vampires breathe? Did they even need to?

"I was sleeping, not pretending to. What is wrong with how I sit?" Godric asked, opening one eye curiously. I sucked in a breath, startled at how blue his eyes were – they had looked brown in the dark but now, in the morning light, they were a beautiful, dark azure.

"Well, it's so unnatural and uncomfortable. When humans try to sleep sitting up, we slouch and need to lean against something; our heads droop and its really uncomfortable."

"I am vampire. Discomfort does not effect me – I could stay in the same position for days, if I so wished."

"No way?" I was pretty impressed – being a vampire doesn't sound like such a bad gig. "While we're on the subject of vampires, do you guys need to breathe?"

He looked amused, which lifted a heavy weight off my shoulders because that particular look of reluctant entertainment had not been present since our earlier… discussion of his problems.

"We do not need to breathe but when we are with humans we do it anyway; it appears to unnerve some of you when we do not."

"Wow. That's crazy! You don't need to breathe? I can't even imagine that. Does it not feel really strange? Could you swim the entire ocean if you wanted to?"

He laughed lightly as my nosiness flared up again. "It does not feel strange; it is what I am used to. I cannot imagine how weak and restrictive it would be if I felt the need to breathe. I suppose, in theory, we could swim the entire ocean, however, only old vampires would be able to do so. Depending on how long it took, one would need to survive without blood, unless you brought a human with you." He chuckled, "I do not think anyone has attempted it; it would not be the most entertaining of pastimes."

"Well, I mean, I guess," I sighed, sounding mildly disappointed at the news that no one had ever tried, although I attempted to hide it. He didn't buy it.

"You are an imaginative little human." He smiled softly at me.

I scrunched my nose. "Thanks?" Was that meant to be a compliment?

"You sound confused?"

"Was that meant to flatter me?" I asked a little disbelievingly.

"It was intended as a compliment but it was not meant to flatter. I find comments made with the purpose of flattery always speak false but what I said was true."

I giggled loudly. "You really are old, aren't you? Or you haven't paid a woman a compliment in a _long_ time."

He looked affronted, "where was the fault in my compliment?"

I laughed loudly at his expression again. "It was a little patronising and backhanded – you should've just said I'm imaginative."

Godric looked contemplative and a strange expression crossed his face, one I hadn't seen yet. Before I could even blink, he was across the room and suddenly in front of me.

I jumped back, yelping. "Dude, don't do that! I think I just had heart failure."

He was leaning over me and smirking. Why was he smirking? He needs to stop right now; this was not good for my health.

"Uh- um, how did you get over here without getting caught in the sunlight?" I stammered, leaning back as far as I could get with the metal bars behind me.

He ignored me. "Do you really think I haven't complimented a woman in a, how did you put it…" he paused, leaning down _right_ into my face, so close I could see the flecks of gold in his eyes, "… _long_ time?"

I gulped and could feel my whole body flush a bright, vibrant red; you could probably make a fry-up on my face at this point. "Um… no?"

He smiled devilishly and I knew I had made a massive mistake. R.I.P me, this is it; I was probably going to die by going into cardiac arrest my heart was beating so fast.

I gasped as I felt Godric's nose gently brush my cheek, before lightly running along my neck, and up the side of my face again, his lips so tantalizingly close to mine. This is where it gets embarrassing. I whined. I actually mother-fucking whined.

He smirked. I died a little inside. Before I could do anything, let alone place even a small peck on his cheek, he was back in his corner, grinning smugly.

To put it mildly, I was mad. "You- you asshole!" I yelled, still flustered with a good dose of humiliation added on top. "What the hell! Why did you do that?"

He pretended to smile consolingly, "I could not have you believing that I was incompetent with women, that my skills were, as you humans say, "rusty." I merely wanted to prove you wrong." He smirked, "plus, I could not miss the opportunity to tease a beautiful woman before I meet the sun."

"You dick," I seethed, clenching my jaw and resisting the temptation to fly over there and punch him. Or kiss him, dammit, now he has me really wanting to kiss him. Maybe I could like, punch him with my mouth or something, two birds, one stone; although, I'm not entirely sure how that would work. I was also still too humiliated to move from my spot.

I huffed and turned my back to him, getting a lovely view of mouldy cardboard boxes. Great.

I could hear him laugh, "Are you sulking now, Milia?"

"…No," I muttered petulantly, determined to ignore him.

"It seems to me that you are, or you are doing a very good job of pretending."

"I'm not talking to you," I sniffed, still too embarrassed to turn around and face him.

I heard a chuckle, then, "okay."

We descended into silence. What the hell? That was not how this worked! He was supposed to apologise and beg for my forgiveness, not ignore me! This isn't how the silent treatment works!

I suppose he _is_ a very old vampire – he probably knew all the tricks in the book and more. I don't know what I expected when I tried to play him but I should have known I would lose miserably. But they don't call me stubborn for nothing. I was going to wait this out and only speak to him when he apologised. Was it childish of me? Yes. Would that stop me? No.

Instead of sticking it out and ignoring Godric for the next few hours, however, I accidentally fell asleep instead. In my defence, it was desperately needed.

* * *

When I woke up, the sunlight was bathing the other corner of the basement, leaving our cage in shadow and I guessed that it must be late afternoon. I had fallen asleep sitting up and my head had ended up leaning against the metal bars for support, pressing my face against one of the poles. It had left a horrible cramp in my neck and it felt like someone had stamped on my cheekbones.

I groaned loudly, trying to unstick my face from the cage, which was not an attractive look, let me tell you. At least I wasn't hungover anymore.

Standing up and turning to face Godric, I started stretching, hoping to loosen my stiff muscles. As soon as Godric saw my face, he laughed. Loudly.

"What?" I demanded grumpily as I bent to touch my toes. I was still embarrassed about our earlier _incident,_ having him laugh at me was just rubbing salt in the wound.

"The pole has left an impression on your face; you have a big red mark there." He drew a line from his forehead, down over his right eye and ending it at his chin, showing me where the mark was.

I blushed in embarrassment again, trying to rub the mark away. He probably thinks I am an absolute idiot, some kind of moron. First I get kidnapped after being a drunken mess; then I spent the next few hours blabbering away at him; then I made a stupid bet with him that resulted in me trying to help him by _ranting_ at him. Not to mention acting like an idiot when he pretended he was going to kiss me. And now this, standing there with a massive red mark against my face as I slept in what had to be the most unattractive sleeping position ever. He probably hated me, or at least thought I was really, really annoying.

I sighed deeply, continuing with my stretches, feeling his eyes bore into me – he was probably staring at that stupid mark on my face.

I really needed to find a way out of this place. I had looked for escape routes when I first woke up but the cage was impenetrable. I had even tried picking the lock with one of my bobby pins but it had been too advanced to pick. I figured that my best shot was when they unlocked the cage to do whatever it is they had planned. I shuddered. They were probably planning to hurt me as they made an event out of Godric. Maybe kill me first as, like, the warm up, with Godric's death as the main act. I felt like I was going to be sick and had to take a few moments to calm my breathing, using the breathing techniques we had learnt in training school to control our fear and panic.

So not only did I have to manage my escape, I had to convince Godric to come with me _and_ I needed to figure it all out before dawn – I had a lot of work ahead of me.

I started off by examining the cage again – the first time I had done it I was concussed. I probably still had a concussion but now it's hopefully only a light one, maybe (it didn't feel like it).

I grabbed onto the metal bars of our cage and started to shake them as hard as I could in the hopes of making them move. They remained in place.

"What are you doing?" Godric asked sounding amused.

"Trying to escape!" I snapped, turning around to glare at him. He just continued to look like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Unless you have super strength, those bars will not be moving."

I glared at him again. "I figured that out for myself, thanks," I hissed.

Next, I tried picking the lock again, using the same bobby pin because I had lost the rest somewhere between the bar and here. I didn't even want to think about how bad my hair must have looked. It's already a nightmare to deal with, flying around my head in messy curls, but after being knocked unconscious and dragged into a basement it probably looked like a bird's nest. I sighed, what a shame – tonight my hair had actually laid flat for once, in a sleek up-do. Now my hair was lying in a tangled mess around my shoulders.

I spent half an hour trying to unlock the cage door with my bobby pin but to no avail. Defeated, I slumped down next to Godric, resigning myself to making my bid for freedom when someone next unlocked the cage.

I had done a really good job of distracting myself from my current situation up until that moment. Planning my escape had brought reality crashing down around me. Now all I could think about was how they were going to kill us – were they going to kill us? Would they kill me with Godric or just torture me? What did they want with me? The more I thought about it, the more I began to panic until it felt like I was going to be sick. I curled up against the wall, struggling to breathe.

"Little one, are you well?" I heard Godric ask, but it was like I was hearing him through water – he sounded distant and muffled.

I could feel myself shaking my head, even though I didn't remember intending to do it. And then Godric's intense blue eyes appeared before me. He was holding my face in his hands and the coolness of his touch helped soothe me. Were all vampires this cold? Why was he cold? He was crouched in front of me, looking almost frantic with worry. Huh – so maybe he does care about me a little bit, or maybe he is worried I will survive and continue to annoy him on his last night on earth.

"Milia, take deep breaths. Take a slow deep breath, hold it for a few seconds and then release it slowly. Do it with me: inhale. Hold. Exhale."

Slowly, I could feel myself calm down, breathing in and out with Godric, focusing only on his eyes until eventually I felt like I could breathe normally again.

I smiled at him gratefully, only just noticing that it was dark – the sun must have set while I was having my panic attack; I didn't have long to escape. But first, I needed a moment to recover.

I leant against the cage and brought my knees up to chest, hugging them tightly and trying not to cry.

"Little one, tell me what is wrong," Godric pleaded, stroking my hair. It felt kind of nice.

"I just, I just realised I could die here," I replied quietly. "Whatever they want from me, its not going to be good and I could die and I never got to say goodbye to anyone I love."

He sighed. "Do you not remember? I told you I would not let anything bad happen to you. You are safe with me." He pulled me into a hug and let me stay there until I felt ready to exit the really nice cocoon of his arms.

Unfortunately, I wasn't given the chance to feel ready. Somewhere in the Fellowship of the Sun, a woman had started screaming.

We both immediately jumped up and Godric raced forward, faster than my eye could see. Then he just, he just _bent_ the metal bars of the cage back like they were nothing and sped off up the stairs, before I could so much as take a step forward.

I stood there and openly gaped for a few seconds, too shocked and too in _awe_ to do anything else. Then I took off after him – this might be my only chance to escape.

Running up the stairs of the basement, in fact, running at all, was a challenge – with a concussion like mine, it was really inadvisable. It couldn't even be called running – it was more like quick staggering.

Reaching the top of the stairs, I peered around the corner, on the look out for Godric or some kind of guard. Wow, this church was actually really beautiful, elegantly arched wood framed the hallway and the moon illuminated everything in a silver glow.

Seeing that no one was there, I crept out from the basement, trying to locate my new vampire friend. I heard loud voices from a stairwell to my left and crept over, looking inside. My heart dropped down to my stomach – it led back down to the basement.

If the screaming woman was down here, it was no wonder we had heard her so clearly – it looked like this room was right next door to ours. I rushed down the staircase, trying not to trip up on my two feet, and wincing as my stupid heels clinched my ankles. Why? Why had I worn a pair of heels to that stupid bar yesterday? Was it only yesterday that I was kidnapped? It felt like a lifetime ago.

I entered a dimly lit room that looked like it was also used for storage… except for the metal cage. I distantly and resentfully noted that this cage was far more fragile than ours had been and I could have easily picked this lock. Damn. However, I was far too horrified by the _dead body_ lying on the floor in front of me with a twisted neck to care much about the cage.

"What – is that a body? Was he _murdered_? Did someone snap his neck? What is happening?" I looked to Godric for answers and immediately flinched back – I hadn't seen him look like that. His face was cold and hard, distant, but his eyes, his eyes were, well, they looked furious. He looked every bit the predator that he was. Staring into his eyes was like looking at a different person. They bored into me.

Our stare off was broken by a small blonde woman who threw herself at me, gripping my arms and demanding to know who I was in a southern drawl.

"My name is Amelia," she breathed a sigh of relief and I continued, "I was kidnapped by the Fellowship of the Sun, I don't know why, I don't know what they want with me but I think we should all run right fucking now."

It was then I noticed the woman's dishevelled appearance and torn dress, the bruises starting to bloom over her body and face. "Oh my god, are you ok? What happened to you? Are you hurt anywhere?"

She looked momentarily taken aback, like no one had asked her that yet, which was, quite frankly,ridiculous. She gave me a watery and shaky smile that suggested she was far from all right. "Yeah, I'm fine, Godric saved me. Thanks for askin'. My name's Sookie and, well, I was here to rescue Godric but now I guess we're the ones who need rescuing."

I snorted grimly. "You can say that again. I would say it's nice to meet you, Sookie, but, given our current circumstances, I think I'll refrain. And trust me Godric—"

I was cut off by more screams. Seriously? Jesus, what is it with this night? Except, this time there were lots of screams, men and woman alike were yelling like their lives depended on it and they were getting closer and closer – like something terrible and fast was headed straight for us.

To my surprise, Sookie seemed relieved and breathed one word, "Bill!"

"No," Godric muttered, in a voice that sounded almost… shaky. Since I had met him, he hadn't once sounded upset, not even when talking about his fucking _suicide_. Whoever was up there must be really important to him.

"I am here my child, down here," he continued, closing his eyes and looking _sad_.

Just as I was about to voice my mind (what the actual fuck – he's a _dad_?!) there was blur and I watched as a tall, blonde, drop dead (literally) gorgeous man in a leather jacket appeared.

What the hell is going on?

* * *

 **Ta daaaa!**

 **So now Milia has met Sookie and she is about to be introduced to Eric - dun dun duuuuun!**

 **Next chapter: Milia meets Eric, tries to escape the Fellowship _and_ continues to pester Godric about living. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh my god - two chapters in one day!**

 **I just had so many ideas that I _had_ to write this today and I completely ignored all my studies (#noregrets).**

 **So, this chapter is far far longer than any of the other ones I have written and it has far more action!**

 **Rated M: strong language, brief mentions of suicide, violence, a small bit of gore.**

 **Disclaimer: I had to lift a lot of the lines from the show to fit the scene and of course, these lines do not belong to me nor do I take credit for them. Again I do not own any of the True Blood characters, apart from my own.**

 **As always, constructive criticism is always welcome!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

The new man rushed into the room, stopping before Godric.

He was clearly a vampire, a powerful one, by the looks of it. Sookie and I could only watch as he murmured Godric's name almost reverently before, get this, _kneeling_ in front of the shorter vampire. Godric just stood there like this was somehow totally normal. I swear to god, if I had known vampires were this weird and this much trouble, I would've avoided Godric as much as I could in that cage.

Sookie stared at this new vampire in shock, looking really unnerved at the display. What, was this vampire dangerous or something? A threat? Sookie evidently knew a lot more about vampires than I did and if she was unnerved, I sure as hell was following her lead.

"You were foolish for sending humans to find me." I jumped as Godric spoke but was relieved when some of that darkness that had ben radiating off him seemed to dissipate and he spoke in a far more gentle tone.

"I did not have a choice," the new vampire replied. His voice was deep and lightly accented, although I couldn't place where it was from. "These… _savages_ seek to destroy you."

Well, I mean, he phrased it rather melodramatically but he wasn't wrong. This vampire must be one of Godric's loved ones – one of the people he didn't bother saying goodbye to. I felt sorry for the dude; he clearly had no idea that Godric was here willingly. I felt hopeful, however, because this guy obviously had a much better chance of convincing Godric to live than I did – he actually knew him.

"I'm well aware of their intentions." Godric gazed down at the vampire with a slightly haunted look in his eye, which appeared to deeply trouble the new vampire.

Stupidly, I felt like this was the perfect opportunity to ambush Godric about his questionable decisions.

"Yes, Godric, why don't you tell him just how _aware_ you are?" I scowled angrily, marching towards the two vampires and pretending like I wasn't terrified and fearing for my life.

The other vampire growled angrily and there was a blurred motion that was too fast for my eye to see but when he settled, Godric was holding an arm out in a gesture that suggested he was holding the vampire back from me. I flinched backwards, well aware of my mortality and fragility in the face of them.

"Milia," Godric said, resting his hand on my shoulder soothingly, "this is my child, Eric Northman."

I gaped at them. "… But you two don't look anything alike!"

The Northman guy gave me the single dirtiest look I have ever received in my entire life before turning to Godric, "who is this idiot?"

I tried to feel offended but all I could feel was relief that he was no longer looking at me like he wanted to rip my poor, delicate throat out.

Godric eyed his son? Child? … His whatever with disproval, "This is Milia, she was kidnapped by the Fellowship of the Sun and trapped here with me."

Sookie stepped forward; her blonde curls brushing her face. "Why? What do they want with you?"

I shrugged, "I have literally no idea – that Steve Newlin dick just said that it was something to do with how I saved this vampire or whatever."

Sookie stared at me in shock, and Eric eyed me with reluctant interest.

I sighed, throwing my hands up in the air. "Why does everyone always give me that look? I'm a _fire-fighter_ – it's my job!"

Sookie looked mildly confused, eyeing my height (which was the same as hers, thank you very much) and obviously wondering how on earth I did my job efficiently. I couldn't really blame her – you had to see short fire fighters in action before you could really believe we were good at our job.

She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by loud, blaring alarms. Well shit, this could _no_ t be good.

Godric straightened at the sound of the alarms and I tried not to flinch away; he had gone back into Terminator mode and I couldn't help but be scared by it. Although, Sookie barely reacted to it so maybe this was just normal vampire behaviour? I prayed to God it wasn't.

"This was one betrayed you," Godric said to Eric, jerking his head at an unconscious man lying in the corner. I yelped, not having noticed him before that. He had a nasty gash on his head and was lying face down behind a heap of boxes.

"Is he ok?" I rushed forward to help him but was held back by Sookie.

She gave me another shaky smile. "Don't worry – he will be fine. He betrayed us to the Fellowship – they shouldn't do anything to him."

I raised a brow, "shouldn't?"

Eric snarled. "We don't have time for this. Godric –"

Unfortunately for him, Godric didn't have time for this shit either. I tried not to feel too smug when he interrupted Eric.

"Save the humans. Go on." He demanded, eyeing the staircase wearily.

"I am not leaving your side until—"

"I can take care of myself," Godric hissed, clearly not in the mood for this Eric's bullshit – I had only just met the guy and even I could tell he had a lot of bullshit.

Sookie rushed forward urgently, like a startled doe, wide-eyed and afraid. "We need to go. Now." The alarms were still blaring in our ears.

Clearly, this concussion of mine was still pretty bad because I failed to feel as _alarmed_ (Ha, get it?) by the alarms blasting our ears. It seemed like that trip from the cage had taken everything I had because all I really felt like doing was curling up in a corner and taking a nap – that unconscious dude had the right idea.

No, Milia, I chastised myself, trying to find the energy and willpower to go on. I had pushed through life and death situations with bad injuries before and was weirdly thankful for it now, without it I doubt I would have had the ability to get through this. Its different when you're on the job – its easier to push through when you have teammates and civilians relying on you, and your life isn't the only one on the line; its much easier to give up when you're only responsible for yourself.

Eric eyed Sookie and I with slight boredom and a lot of irritation. He looked really put upon, like saving us from a raving group of religious fanatics was really inconvenient. I was getting the feeling that this guy was really going to get on my nerves. He started to leave the basement, Sookie and I scurrying after him in an effort to catch up with his long strides.

Wait – "Godric, aren't you coming with us?" I asked, turning back to him.

He smiled reassuringly, "No, I am finding my own way out."

I eyed him suspiciously, and a little angrily if I'm being honest. "We _will_ see you outside?"

He sighed, stepping forward and holding my face between his hands, which was kind of strange but not exactly bad – I quite liked it. "Yes. I promise."

"Pinky promise?"

He looked amused again. "I am not child, I refuse to make a pinky promise."

I scowled at him, fighting to get out of his grip and he sighed again, this time a little more deeply. "Fine, yes, I pinky promise."

I smiled in satisfaction and turned back to Eric and Sookie, who had turned to watch us. Eric was staring at Godric like he was an alien, or at least insane and then turned hateful and accusing eyes on me. Fuck – that look cannot mean anything good for my future.

I hurried up the staircase after the two blondes and heard Godric's parting words.

'Spill no blood on your way out, Eric."

Eric, Sookie and I made our way swiftly through the church, thankfully not encountering anyone. I stared at our surroundings curiously as we went, anything to take my mind off my exhaustion and pain; the way I couldn't seem to shake off this sluggishness in my movements or the strange fog clouding my mind.

"We're close to the exit," Sookie whispered as we walked down a large hallway.

Eric reached the end first and stopped before he could turn the corner, motioning us to stay behind him and keep quiet. Sookie and I ignored him and cautiously peeked around the corner anyway, seeing three guards blocking our escape. I was beginning to really like this Sookie.

Overhead, we heard the voice of Steven Newlin through the speakers, going on about evacuation and some warrior bullshit. God, I hated him.

"What are we going to do?" Sookie whispered worriedly, staring at Eric expectantly.

"I could have us out of here in seconds." Eric murmured as he stared around the corner. I doubt he meant it peacefully.

"There are women and children in here!" Sookie warned him angrily and I mentally high fived her, yes, I was really liking this lady.

I peered around the corner and a metaphorical light bulb flashed over my head.

I turned to the two blondes, "I have an idea!"

They eyed me doubtfully, obviously well aware how bad my concussion was. "Don't look at me like that – you two aren't offering any!"

Eric shoved past me dismissively, about to step around the corner when Sookie grabbed his arm.

"Eric, no!"

He eyed her hand like it had offended his mother or something and Sookie quickly let go. Eric came forward and leaned into her face almost seductively, which was a little weird, not going to lie.

"Trust me."

He started around the corner again and I grabbed him as well, praying to every deity I knew of that he wouldn't rip off my hand. Thank fully he didn't, but he did shove it off rather aggressively and gave me a look of pure disgust.

"Look," I pleaded with him, "whatever your plan is, it won't work! Look at you – you look every bit the vampire they are expecting. You can't get around them without hurting them."

"Oh, and I suppose you think you can?" He asked, raising an eyebrow coldly.

"Yes – look, if it doesn't work you can just swoop in and try your idea but if they see me instead of you they will be far less suspicious."

"Fine," he bit out through gritted teeth, looking like it was almost painful for him to make that admission. I was surprised. He must really be taking Godric's orders seriously.

I looked down at myself, realising my current appearance would give me away. I was still wearing Godric's shirt; it looked like a short but very strange dress. I looked up and realised that Eric was giving me a slow once over. My jaw dropped – was this guy serious?

"Are you- are you checking me out?" I asked incredulously, feeling very exposed.

All he did was give me a smug smirk in return. I could feel steam coming out my ears – this guy was a real ass! Unfortunately, now was not the time to berate him.

"Sookie, I need your dress!"

She eyed me uncertainly.

"We don't have time for that," Eric snapped, rolling his eyes.

I sighed. "You're right." I eyed his outfit. "Give me your jacket."

He gave me a look that was very decidedly unimpressed.

"Don't worry, you'll get it back in one piece." I stomped my foot impatiently.

He rolled his eyes again (rude) and quickly stripped the _very_ nice leather jacket off, looking like he was giving up a limb instead of an item of clothing. I tried not to eye his biceps as he handed it over; he was still a jackass, albeit a beautiful one.

I slipped the jacket on and asked Sookie if she had a hairband I could borrow. She nodded eagerly and quickly slid one off her wrist. I tried to force my hair into a messy bun to make it look more like the wreckage that my hair had become was deliberate, instead of the result of being dragged, unconscious, through a park.

I looked myself over again and sighed, this was as acceptable as I was going to look – hopefully it appeared as though I just had a strange sense of style. Eric's jacket absolutely dwarfed me.

Taking a deep breath and summoning fake tears to my eyes (which was not that hard to do given our current predicament), I raced around the corner, giving small, hysterical sobs.

"Help me!" I gasped, staggering up to the guards, who immediately looked concerned and rushed to my side.

"There's a vampire – you have to save me! I was trying to evacuate after going to the bathroom and it just flew around the corner!" I was giving big, hysterical sobs now, clinging to the jacket of the man closest to me, who floundered at having a sobbing woman in his arms. "He- he slammed me against a wall and I hit my head! I just – I ran away as fast as I could. Oh god, oh God, I could have died! Thank the Lord you three, strong men are here to save me!"

I was worried I was laying it on too thick, but when I looked up, the three men were eating it up. They all puffed up proudly and tried to look important at my words.

"Where was this, ma'am?" The one holding me asked. I waved my hand in a vague gesture away from the corner Sookie and Eric were hidden behind. Shit, I didn't know this church at all – what could I say? My mind raced and I bought myself some time to think by sobbing some more. This church was run by Steve Newlin right? There had to be an office or something he worked in?

"It was right by Mr. Newlin's office!" I exclaimed, crossing my fingers behind my back and desperately hoping his office was far away from my companions' hiding place.

To my immense relief, the three men ran off in the opposite direction, after giving me clear instructions to get out of the church and to find the other women and children. One of the gross little gremlins took the opportunity to stroke my thigh as he went past and I had to hide my shudder of disgust and clench my fists to stop myself from acting out and giving away my cover. I glared after them.

Sookie and Eric rushed around the corner, Sookie giving me a wide smile and a small high five when she reached me.

Eric eyed me with slightly less distaste than he had been before. "I guess you are not entirely useless."

"Thanks, I'm so flattered," I drawled sarcastically.

Eric rushed forward and opened the door, peering outside. I felt a flash of terror as a large group of well-armed men marched right towards us.

"Eric," Sookie gasped, "through the Sanctuary!"

I had no idea what she was talking about, but followed after them as we ran into the heart of the church, where all the congregations took place.

I could see a small door at the end of the room and assumed that was our exit. I raced towards it, panic welling up in my throat. I could almost taste our freedom – we were so close!

"Where's the exit?" Eric asked Sookie briskly, which was actually a pretty smart question. There were several doors in this room and I had just kind of picked one at random.

Sookie pointed at the door I was headed for, "back that way."

I didn't have the energy to feel too pleased with myself.

Just as we reached the end of the pews, the door opened and to my horror, Steve Newline appeared.

He was wearing a ridiculous yellow suit, with his hair perfectly gelled and didn't look anything like the monster I knew him to be.

I was going to be sick.

"There are several exits, actually," he called, a sick smile on his face. "For you, the easiest one takes you straight to hell."

I couldn't help but snort. Really? Was that the best this guy could do? That had to be the cheesiest thing I had ever heard. _That's right_ , _Milia,_ I thought to myself, _hide your fear and bury it._ I always hid behind a mask of sarcasm and humour when I was afraid, to the occasional irritation of my superiors.

It was difficult to stay humorous though, when every door in the room opened and heavily armed, fanatical men and women marched in. Fuck fuck fuck, what do we do now?

Sookie looked around in frustration and panic. "Let us leave!" She demanded. "Save yourselves, _no one_ has to die!"

It was hard to tell who she was protecting: us or them. On the one hand we were heavily outnumbered, on the other hand we had a deadly vampire with us. Either way, this would probably end in bloodshed. Sookie's way of thinking might be the only way to get us out of there without anyone getting hurt.

"Please, listen to her," I pleaded. When I was ignored, I stood with my back straight and head held high, trying to draw on some of my authority. "I am a member of the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department and I am telling you to let us go."

My words had a small effect and some of the people surrounding us looked hesitant; some even took a few steps back. People felt uncomfortable about hurting a fire fighter – it didn't tend to sit well with their conscience.

"Well, _what_ a coincidence – so am I." A man stepped forward and any support we had vanished. He was in his early forties with salt and pepper hair and had a very large frame. I felt my heart stop with stone cold dread. Then it restarted again, pounding with fury.

"You," I hissed, stepping towards him. "So that's what this is all about!" I laughed mockingly, if a little hysterically. "Is this some revenge thing? Trying to get even with me? You're pathetic," I spat.

His face contorted with ugly fury. "You little bitch! You got me fired – did you really think there wouldn't be consequences?"

I laughed again. " _I_ got you fired? You did that all by yourself, _hotshot_ ," I sneered his nickname mockingly, viciously, knowing it would get a rise out of him.

He roared with fury and grabbed me by Godric's shirt, breathing heavily into my face. I gagged at the rancid smell of his breath – he had clearly been drinking beers all day. "Laugh all you want, cunt, but I'm going to wipe that cocky little smile off your pretty little face."

I spat in his eye. "Go ahead and try."

His face twisted into a grotesque snarl and he reared back, swinging his fist down into my face. I felt it hit my cheek and grunted at the impact. It hurt but it wasn't unbearable and I was relieved it hadn't broken any bones – it seemed that he hadn't been keeping up with his strength training after losing his job. Distantly I heard Sookie screaming, telling him to let me go and calling my name.

I only had a moment to recover, however, as he dragged me backwards by the hair, pulling me up onto the altar and slamming me against it. I momentarily blacked out from the pain. My poor, still concussed head had hit the corner of the altar, right where I had been hit two days ago. I definitely needed to see a doctor after this, if I survived that is.

"Eric, why aren't you doing anything?" Sookie's voice demanded, sounding upset. Oh yeah, I had forgotten he was here.

"I cannot do anything when he is holding a gun to her head," Eric's voice bit back furiously. Huh?

Oh. I hadn't noticed the man the man behind me, holding a small handgun that was trained to the centre of my forehead. I noted, with disgust, that it was the same man who had stroked my thigh earlier. He winked at me. I bared my teeth at him.

These guys were smarter than they looked – by having the gun trained on me, Eric couldn't make a move to help me without risking my life. I doubted Eric would have made that move anyway – he would probably be glad to get rid of me –one less responsibility. Regretfully, I noted that instead of helping the situation, my short temper had rapidly escalated it. Oops.

I didn't really have time to think about Eric or my mistakes though, as the man who used to be affectionately known as 'Hotshot' grinned viciously at me, enjoying my pain as he laid me down flat against the altar as I struggled against him, tying me tightly to it with spiked bits of rope, the vindictive bastard. I could feel the spikes digging in to chest and wrists, my poor swollen ankles. Blood dripped down by body, staining the carpet beneath me and Godric's really nice shirt. Damn – I was supposed to keep this.

My captor leaned down into my face, laughing quite psychotically. "Don't worry, Kent, I'll make sure to say goodbye to dear Jesse for you. What will he do when one half of the DFD's Dynamic Duo is dead? Do you think he will find a replacement for you?"

With his face so close to mine I could enact a little bit of my own petty, fury-fuelled revenge. I leant up as quickly as I could and sunk my teeth into his cheek, clamping down as hard as I could. Blood filled my mouth, which was just, ugh, ew, gross but, to my satisfaction, Hotshot screamed in pain, flying back from me with blood streaming down his face.

"You crazy bitch!" he roared, flying forward to land two heavy blows to my chest that drove the air straight out of me. I felt a rib snap and I lay there, gasping for breath.

"Stop it!" I heard Sookie cry, "Please, leave her alone!"

If I tilted my head up I could see Steve Newlin standing in front of me, his yellow suit reflecting the soft lighting so he looked almost as if he were glowing. I scoffed quietly to myself – I can't believe people fell for stupid tricks like that.

I zoned him out as he droned on and on about war and God, blah blah, blah instead focusing on freeing myself. I wiggled around a bit, trying to see if I could loosen the ropes tying me down but it was futile – they were too tight. There was no way I was getting out of here without help. I sighed and grimly resigned myself to watching the shit show unfold.

I had missed quite a bit of Sookie's and Newlin's conversation but it didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on.

"I'm not concerned with _Godric_. Any vampire will do for our grand celebration. And we got one right here." Newlin pointed at Eric with almost giddy excitement.

Then to my shock, Eric slowly stepped forward, offering himself up to the crazy man in front of me. My jaw dropped. Who knew, Eric Northman had a heart after all.

He walked up to the altar and I stared at him with wide eyes.

My tormentor rushed forward eagerly and tried to push Eric onto to the stone slab, but it was as though he had tried to shove a solid wall. Eric turned and bared his fangs at him and Hotshot jumped back, scared.

The blonde vampire slowly laid down on the alter next to me, letting the room know that he would not be rushed and that he was there by choice – he still had a good deal of control.

That control vanished as one of Newlin's excited followers draped silver over Eric, in the same way I had been tied up. The vampire next to me hissed as the silver touched him and, for the first time that night, I didn't have any negative emotions about him. I looked at him in sympathy as he suffered almost the same wounds I had and, it was probably one sided, but I felt a good deal of camaraderie. The small moment of sympathy vanished however when he turned to look at me.

"You moron," I hissed, "you were the only chance we had of getting out of here!"

He gave me another dirty look, which was still really effective when he was in pain, especially, when he was in pain. I could see his fangs up close and personal, because we were essentially squished together, and they weirdly fascinated me but that didn't mean I wanted them anywhere near me, especially when I was dripping blood all over the place.

"Do you really think I am that stupid?" he whispered quietly, still glaring at me.

"Um, yeah?"

He growled and I flinched back, yelping when it jolted my wounds. "You foolish girl, did you not hear what Sookie said?"

I gave him a dirty look of my own, and from the dark look in his eyes he really did _not_ appreciate it. "No, I didn't. I was distracted by _my broken rib and the stakes currently stabbing my body_. So, no, I didn't hear your nice little conversation over there – sorry for being distracted by a bit of light torture."

Our whispered conversation went completed unnoticed by Newlin, who was somehow _still_ droning on.

Eric rolled his eyes at me. "Humans. You're all so melodramatic. If you had listened, you would know that Godric has escaped and is bringing reinforcements as we speak."

While this may have been comforting news to Eric, it didn't really inspire a lot of confidence in me, because I knew something he didn't. Why would a man who was planning on dying due to the cruelty of vampires towards humankind invite a load of them into a human church? Exactly, he wouldn't. We were so so screwed.

I jumped when Eric's pained voice spoke up next to me.

"I – I offer myself in exchange for Godric's freedom," and then reluctantly, "… and the girls'."

"That's noble," Newlin replied, pretending to look impressed, "but they are just as culpable as you are. They are traitors to their race – the human race! They hardly deserve mercy." His voice took on an excited tone. "Maybe we should tie the pretty little blonde one to you so you can meet the sun together. I bet this marshmallow would roast up nicely."

"You leave her alone!" I yelled, feeling the same urge of protectiveness Sookie had felt for me. Sookie didn't deserve this – she was kind, brave, sweet and had done nothing but try to help people since I met her, which, to be fair, was not that long ago.

Loud crashes and screams outside the room saved me from having to hear what was no doubt a very corny and misguided reply from Newlin.

The doors of the church burst open and a handsome dark haired vampire rushed in, shouting Sookie's name in a panicked voice. Newlin grabbed the gun from the man who had previously held it to my head, now pointing it at Sookie's and warning the vampire that if he made any move to save Sookie, she would be dead before he could get to her.

To my shock and horror, the vampire threatened the life of everyone left in the church, including the children if Sookie was harmed. What a nasty piece of work.

I turned to Eric, who was rolling his eyes at the theatrics of his fellow vampire. Nice to see that its not just humans who annoy him.

"I take it that's Sookie's boyfriend?" I asked him in a low voice.

He nodded.

I scoffed, "she could do way better than that."

And, to my shock, Eric gave a pained chuckle, although the laugh didn't really reach his eyes.

"I finally agree with you on something, human."

I gave him an irritated look. "My name's Milia, dickweed."

He ignored me. Typical. I _really_ did not like Eric Northman and I was pretty annoyed that I would have to spend the last moments of my life shoved up next to him.

I turned back to the horrible events happening before me, watching as a short man walked up to the dark haired vampire with a bundle of silver chains. A small pop echoed throughout the room, making everyone but the vampires jump, and Steve Newlin dropped the gun he was holding, yelling in pain.

"Let her go, fuckwad!"

I couldn't see what was happening but from what I understood, someone had shot Steve Newlin with a green paint ball.

It was so ridiculous and so unexpected that I couldn't help but giggle and although he tried to hide it, I could see Eric's small smile.

I outright laughed, despite the pain, when the strange new hero shot Newlin smack dab in the forehead before it sounded like he was restrained.

Sookie took the opportunity to rush forward and pull the silver chains off of Eric, urging him to help her remove the ropes from me. Eric, the complete asswipe that he was, instead decided to attack Newlin. Great, thanks for all your help, _Eric._

Sookie rushed up beside me, looking helplessly at all my wounds and the way in which the spikes of the rope were digging into my skin. We ignored the commotion around us as Eric decided whether or not to kill the reverend.

"I'm sorry, Milia, I don't know how to remove these without hurtin' you!"

I laughed mirthlessly. "Don't worry about it – just yank them out. It can't hurt any worse than when they were stabbed into me."

Just Sookie shakily reached for the rope around my ankles, the doors to the so-called Sanctuary (how ironic) were shoved open again and this time I was filled with terror. Sookie was so shocked she went completely still, never reaching the rope binding my feet, which sucked for me.

An assortment of vampires blinked into the room, surrounding all the exits as their leader strode in, making what was no doubt a dramatic speech to go with his dramatic entrance. Unfortunately for him, I was too distracted by the giant cowboy hat on his head to pay much attention. Was this guy serious?

However, he did manage to grab my attention when he demanded that the vampires under his control killed everyone. Yeah, that certainly got a girl to listen.

I couldn't tell whether or not it was a good thing or a bad thing when I started to fade into the world of the unconscious. It looked like my double concussion, broken ribs and blood loss had taken a massive toll on me as I my eyes slipped shut. As I heard the terrified screams of the humans around me I decided that it was good a thing.

* * *

 **Drama!**

 **Sadly, I had to cut this chapter off here, otherwise it was just going to go on and on.**

 **So, sorry to those of you who wanted Eric and Milia to have a good introduction - sadly, they have both made terrible first impressions and they rather hate each other (those idiots).**

 **Next chapter: Godric saves the day then has what has to be the worst house party of all time, oh, and we get to meet some of Milia's good friends and Firehouse!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone!**

 **Thank you so much for all your reviews! I really appreciate and love reading them!**

 **So, this is my longest chapter yet - a whopping 9297 words and 23 word document pages! This is my favourite chapter yet and I tried to balance as much romance and action as I could in it.**

 **Rated M: strong language, violence, mentions of suicide, bomb threats and sexual references.**

 **Disclaimer: I had to lift a lot of the lines from the show to fit the scene and of course, these lines do not belong to me nor do I take credit for them. Again I do not own any of the True Blood characters, apart from my own.**

 **As always, constructive criticism is welcome!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

I didn't think my life could get any worse: I had a double concussion (if that's possible), a broken rib, I was tied to an altar by spiked ropes and a vampire had just decided I was a perfect meal.

When I had started to lose consciousness I was relieved – I figured I was either going to wake up in the afterlife or in a hospital after all this shit was over, on all the good pain meds. Instead, I was unconscious for two minutes at the most. I was pretty pissed – the universe wouldn't cooperate with me even when I was dying.

Sadly, I couldn't focus too much on my ire with the universe because I had bigger problems: namely the vampire looming over me with a vicious grin.

Overwhelming panic surged through me as I struggled against the rope, desperate to get free and start running. I felt so helpless, so powerless as the ropes only dug deeper into my skin and as my poor broken rib screamed in agony.

"Aren't you delectable," the vampire sneered, her fangs glistening in the light, "and look, you're ready made – all tied up for me." She giggled manically.

"I hope you choke," I snarled, trying to maintain a façade of bravery in the face of death. It was difficult to maintain it when the vampire hissed at me as a reply. I didn't think that vampires _could_ choke but the sentiment remained the same. She stalked towards me and I whimpered, continuing to struggle and feeling bile rise in my throat. She was going to rip open my neck and there was nothing I could do. I couldn't even raise a hand to defend myself.

The vampire lunged and I screamed, clenching my eyes shut so I didn't have to watch my own blood fly all over the room. It felt as if time had slowed down, like it was taking forever for her to reach me. It was only after a few seconds had gone by that I realised I was waiting for a bite that would never come. Confused, I opened my eyes and immediately thought I was dead or that hell had frozen over.

Eric Northman, the vampire who I had just met and I was pretty sure would like nothing more than to see me dead, was holding my would-be murderer in the air by her throat. His fangs were mere millimetres from her neck as he whispered something I couldn't hear. He released her and she fell to the floor like a sack of bricks before speeding off out the church.

My jaw dropped. I stared at him with wide eyes wet from tears. He stood there and stared at me for a moment – I didn't know if it was because he wanted a moment longer to enjoy my pain or if it was because he was trying to figure out the best way to get me out of this mess. I'm assuming it was the former.

Even though it had felt like hours since the vampire had decided I would make a tasty meal, in reality it had been less than a minute. The church was still filled with ravenous vampires and screaming humans who didn't stand a chance. I hoped Sookie was ok and I scanned the room for her, relieved when I saw that she was safe in the arms of her boyfriend. At least Sookie would live and get out of this mess.

"Enough."

That single word echoed throughout the hall, ringing with pure, unlimited power. It took me a few moments to realise that it was Godric who had spoken, it was so different from the unthreatening, serene tone he had used when speaking to me.

I immediately felt lighter as relief surged through me – despite his pinky promise I was worried he would use this chaos to slip away unnoticed and take the opportunity to end his life without any of his friends and loved ones knowing, as he had previously intended to do. I took a deep breath and slowly released it – he had kept his promise.

The room froze at his command, his power. Humans and vampires alike instinctively obeyed his wishes. I was in awe.

Godric started to speak again but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Now that all the commotion had died down and I knew we were all relatively safe for the time being, the adrenaline that had been keeping me awake and fairly alert died down and I was left in agony. I could feel every spike buried into the soft skin of my body, I could feel every bruise, every scrape. My head pounded, on fire, and my rib felt as though it were a dagger plunged into my chest.

Tears of pain started to silently slide down my cheeks, blurring my vision. When I blinked to clear them, it was to find Eric standing over me. He was still looking at me with that same cold, hard look of distaste but, and maybe this was a pain induced delusion, I thought I saw a grudging respect in his eyes, just a tiny weeny smidgen, but respect all the same.

He reached down and slowly started pulling the rope from my body. I stared at him in surprise – I didn't think he had it in him to be gentle.

Noting my shock, he rolled his eyes. "I am not doing this for you, I am obeying my orders from Godric to keep you safe."

I snorted and pointedly looked down at my battered body, at all the blood dripping from it. "Yeah, nice work," I commented sarcastically, only to regret it when he tugged viciously on a spike, making me hiss in pain.

"You're alive, are you not?'

"Barely," I replied dryly, trying to take my mind off how painful it was to have him remove the spikes – why was it more painful than when they went in? I sighed, "Just yank them out all at once, quickly."

He raised a brow at me but shrugged and before I could change my mind, he had pulled all the rope off me in one go, at super vampire speed. I screamed, a fresh wave of tears falling down my face. Ouch. That had hurt like a bitch.

I bit out a small, "thank you," to Eric and he shrugged again before walking off to be at Godric's side.

I looked over and jumped, not realising how close he was. Despite the fact that he was smaller than most of the men here, he appeared to stand taller than them – just through his strength. He was holding Newlin up by his neck.

"Good people," he spoke quietly but his voice still emanated around the room, "who of you is willing to die for this man's madness?"

The room remained silent.

'That is what I thought."

Ooohhh, sick burn, I thought, before mentally rolling my eyes at myself – what am I, fourteen?

"Stand down everyone," Godric's voice became firmer as he eyed the vampire in the cowboy hat, "people, go home. Its over now."

There was a moment of confused silence before everyone started to leave, shuffling out of the exit in a state of shock.

I slowly sat up on the altar, too shocked to know how to feel. I had been so terrified for most the night, that now it was finally over, my body didn't know how to act or how to feel. I almost didn't believe it.

"I dare say my faith in humankind is stronger than yours," Godric commented as he threw Steve Newlin to the ground, who lay there pathetically.

Godric: 2, Newlin: 0. I snickered then abruptly stopped when it jostled my rib, hissing in pain again.

Godric flew to my side instantly, looking over me in concern. I looked up to meet his eyes and my blood froze. If I thought he had looked predatory or furious before this, boy, was I mistaken. His eyes were so dark with anger you would think there was a thunderstorm raging inside them. He looked ready to kill.

"Who did this to you?" He asked, voice low and dangerous, tight, like he was trying to control his emotions. I didn't really know why he was so worked up – surely he should be more concerned with Eric? But when I looked over at Eric, he was _completely healed_. What the hell? When Godric had said that vamps healed quickly, I didn't think he had meant _that_ fast!

"It turns out I was here due to some good, old-fashioned revenge," I sighed. Now he mentioned it, where was Hotshot? I hadn't seen him since Sookie's boyfriend arrived… had- had he escaped when he noticed the tide turning? That son of a bitch!

I was dragged out of my thoughts when Godric gripped my face tightly, "Who. Did. This. To. You?"

I gave him a weird look. "He's gone – I think he slipped out in all the commotion. Why do _you_ care?"

But Godric ignored my question, turning to Eric.

"Who did this?" he demanded.

Eric replied without hesitation. "She called him Hotshot – from what I could gather he was a fire-fighter with her until she did something to get him fired."

I glared at him, "you dick – that makes it sound like this was my fault!"

He also ignored me. I huffed.

A blonde haired man rushed towards Sookie, gathering her up in a big hug. The two looked uncannily alike and I guessed he was her brother. They were strangely familiar. The two shared an emotional moment and it made me miss my own siblings like crazy. They were probably so so worried about me right now.

Steve Newlin, who just would not _shut up_ , ruined their emotional moment.

"You know nothing, on the final day of reckoning, we'll see who goes to heaven and who goes to hell." He sounded smug, like there wasn't green paint on his forehead and like all his followers hadn't just walked out on him. I guessed he was putting on a face but it just made him look more stupid.

Sookie's brother, I think she said his name was Jason, sauntered up to Newlin. I raised a brow – I didn't see what reason he had to be so cocky, although, he was holding a paintball gun in his hand - he must have been the one to shoot him?

"I reckon I've already been to heaven," he grinned, "it was inside your wife." And with that he decked Steve Newlin straight in the face.

I laughed loudly, gripping the altar for support, whilst Sookie loudly scolded her brother. Looks like it was just not Steve Newlin's day, at all.

Sookie and her brother were turning out to be quite the pair, and I decided I rather liked them – they reminded me of my own family. They would fit right in the Kent household.

I slowly started to slide myself off the altar, wincing the entire way. Godric appeared next to me in a flash again, making me jump and screech.

"Will you stop doing that? I have a heart attack every time!"

He smiled unapologetically at me. "Little one, let me help you." He reached for me and gently guided me to the floor, before swooping me up in his arms.

I shouted in pain and he froze, his face clouding over in regret. "I apologise, little one, I only meant to aid you."

"Put me," I hissed, "the fuck down. Now. And stop calling me that! I'm not that small."

"I cannot do that, I am sorry, little one."

I let out another aggravated yell, glaring at him. He knew exactly what he was doing – he called me that on purpose just to push my buttons!

I started struggling in his grip, wiggling for all I was worth and causing myself a _lot_ of pain. Fresh tears sprung to my eyes but I did not stop. I would not be carried out of here like a damsel in distress – I am a goddamn fire-fighter, I can take care of myself. If the rest of my truck found out I had been carried out of here bridal style, I would never hear the end of it – it had taken me so long to earn their resect, to be treated as an equal and I didn't want all that hard work to be undone in one night.

"Stop, you are hurting yourself." Godric demanded and I almost, almost listened. He was using his scary vampire voice but I refused to obey him. I was going to walk out of here with my head held high even if it killed me.

"Let go of me!" I demanded and finally Godric set me on my feet, growling.

I glared at him before turning around and slowly starting to hobble my way out of the church, wincing the whole way. Godric and Eric went with me, going at same pace. Godric was eyeing me darkly, and looked close to just ignoring my demands and picking me up anyway.

I glared at him again. "Just go ahead without me, I can do this myself – I don't need your help!"

"Ah, but you have it whether you want it or not, little one." Godric had the _nerve_ to smirk at me.

A frustrated scream bubbled up in my throat, "you—"

I walked straight into a wall.

I was mortified. Keeping my head stubbornly held up, I carried on up the hallway, spotting the exit, pretending like nothing had happened. "Don't you dare say anything."

Even though I couldn't see Eric's stupid, beautiful face, I could just tell he was smirking, the smug asshole.

* * *

Stepping through the doorway of the exit, I felt my shoulders relax for the first time in days. I took a deep breath of glorious, fresh air and giggled. We made it!

Sookie had been standing outside with her brother and boyfriend, but upon catching sight of me exiting the building she ran forward, giving me a big hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright!"

I hugged her back fiercely. "You too! Thanks for your help."

"If you need anything, just give me a call and if you ever find yourself in Bon Temps, you always have a place to stay with me." Sookie was displaying the infamous Southern hospitality but all I could do was stare at her in shock.

"No way!" I exclaimed. She looked at me in confusion. "You're Sookie Stackhouse! Oh my god, this is crazy! I grew up in Bon Temps, my family lives there now – the Kents? I can't believe this – you look so different!"

She stared at me in confusion for a few moments before gasping and grinning widely. "Amelia Kent! I can't believe I didn't realise it sooner – you and Jesse Taylor moved to Dallas right after high school to make it big as fire-fighters, right?" She laughed, "you know, your momma has this wall in the station that is like, dedicated to you – every time you and Jesse do something heroic and it ends up in the papers, she sticks it on that wall."

I groaned, embarrassed. "Ugh no way? She does? That's so embarrassing – I can't believe she does that!"

Sookie laughed again, waving over at Jason. "Jase, come on over here – you won't believe who this is – Amelia Kent!"

Jason's eyebrows shot up to his hairline before his face broke into a big, toothy grin. "No way! The girl who did a drunk strip tease at her prom?"

I immediately flushed a flaming red and I could feel the two vampires who had accompanied me out the church staring holes into my back.

Sookie slapped her brother on the head. "Jason! I can't believe you – of course you would remember her for that." She rolled her eyes. "Apologise!"

Jason grinned sheepishly at me, "sorry."

"No worries. I just don't talk about that, ever. As long as you don't ever mention that again, we're good."

He laughed loudly and nodded. "I think I can do that. How are you anyways? What's it like in big ole' Dallas?"

I sighed sadly, "not that great – the city is running low on funds and they had to make budget cuts – our Firehouse closes next week. Pretty much all of us had to find work elsewhere and, weirdly enough, one of the only available firehouses for that many fire fighters was in Bon Temps. Lots of us are moving up there."

"Really?" Sookie asked, "I'm sad to hear that it hasn't worked out in Dallas but it will be good having you back in town again – Jesse's mom is always going on about the two of you!"

I laughed, "Yeah, I guess it will be nice to be back. How about you? You still working at Merlotte's, Sookie?"

She smiled widely, "yeah, I like it there – couldn't find another job where the boss is so easy to manipulate." She winked and I laughed again. "Do you want to get a lift back with us? I doubt you have any way to get back home, what with the whole kidnapping thing and all."

Before I could answer, Godric was next to me again (I still jumped, dammit), laying his hand on my lower back.

"That is a lovely offer but Milia is travelling with me."

I am? "I am?"

"Yes."

"Look, that's nice and all, but I have people worried about me – I would rather get home as soon as possible and let them know I'm ok."

"And you can do that with me. Do you really want to make Sookie go out of her way to take you home when she has suffered a lot today as well?"

I bit my lip, feeling guilty, he was right. "I suppose." I smiled at Sookie, "thanks anyway! Hopefully I will see you back in Bon Temps."

She smiled back at me uncertainly, eyeing Godric's hand on my back with suspicion. "If you're sure. Drop by Merlotte's when you get back." With that, she waved and joined her brother and boyfriend in a small car that was parked in the corner of the lot.

I turned back to Godric, biting my lip again and feeling unsure. "I need to stop off at the hospital before I go anywhere, would it be ok if you dropped me off there? I can phone my friends from there and you won't have to see me again."

He stiffened slightly at my words, I didn't understand why.

"Of course."

I smiled brightly at him, "thank you so much!"

As soon as we got into the car that somehow magically pulled up for us (at this point, I didn't question it) I immediately fell asleep on the plush leather seats, curling up in a ball. This car was ridiculously spacious.

Eric and Godric had settled into the seats opposite me and I decided not to bother with a seatbelt – if the car crashed they were more than capable of catching me. Well, Eric wouldn't be willing to but I hoped Godric would.

* * *

The sound of quiet murmurs woke me up but I was too warm and comfortable to move or do anything about it.

"She is a very spirited human." I heard a low voice say. It took me a few moments to figure out where I was and what had happened; and then a few more to realise who had spoken.

I flew up with a wide grin. "You think I'm cool!" I waggled my eyebrows at Eric. "You think I'm _spirited_! No take-backs!" I pointed at him, laughing madly.

He shot me a deadly look and I immediately shut up, flying backwards against my seat but I still couldn't help a small, victorious smirk.

Godric laughed lowly and it sent a small tingle down my spine that settled in my belly. I blushed.

Yawning and stretching my arms up, something felt different. Off. I stared around in confusion, not sure what was wrong. I lifted a hand to massage my slightly stiff shoulder, where I slept on it funny, only to feel smooth unblemished skin. I immediately freaked out.

"What the fuck? There should be a small stab wound here!" I frantically looked over the rest of my body, shocked when my ribcage felt fine. That was what was off – I felt amazing when I should be feeling like, well, like I was dying.

"What's happening? I don't understand." I started hyperventilating, seriously bewildered. Godric reached forward and gently took my wrists, steadying me.

"Its ok, Milia, I healed you."

I froze. Huh? "What? How?"

Godric shared a cryptic look with Eric before glancing back at me. "I used a special… vampire magic."

'Whaaaat?"

"I cannot tell you how – the law forbids it."

I stared at him in confusion, "ok?" I felt the back of my head, noting the lack of a bump, although there was a lot of dried blood matted in my hair. "Thank you, I guess. You didn't have to do that though – I wouldn't have died if I got to a hospital."

Godric's eyes darkened. "I wanted to."

I was saved from having to reply as we pulled up to a really big, _really_ nice house.

"Where are we?"

"My nest."

* * *

Both Eric and Godric escorted me through the house. It was full of vampires and as soon as I entered the front door and they smelt all the dried blood stuck to me, their heads snapped up in my direction.

I felt nervous and vulnerable under all their gazes, and tried to hide myself behind Eric's tall form (he had to be good for something, right?), who smirked and moved out the way so that I was still in plain view. Fuckface.

And almost as if he could _feel_ my fear, Godric stepped in front of me, staring down the room, which hastily averted their faces. Weird.

I was led through the house; Godric must be _loaded_ – it was modern and open planned, decorated with expensive, minimalist furniture. He took me upstairs (there were so many, oh my god) and showed me inside a massive bedroom. It had a huge, and I mean huge, four-poster bed, with soft, black sheets. I would bet my life savings it was Egyptian cotton.

I thought I would feel exhausted just looking at the bed but instead I felt full of energy, like I could dance the night away – it must have been that weird vampire magic they had used to heal me.

"The bathroom is through that door," Godric gestured to the room beyond, "you can use the shower and anything you wish. I will find you some clean clothes." He left the room, gently shutting the door behind him.

Confused, I looked down at myself only to remember I had been wearing his shirt this whole time and it was soaked with blood, which was thankfully no longer dripping now. God, I must have looked like a mess.

I jumped what had to be fifty feet in the air when the bedroom door abruptly snapped open and Eric appeared.

Placing a hand on my chest, I glared at him. "Jesus, you ever heard of knocking?"

He just smirked at me. What is it with vamps and smirking?

"Why are you here?"

He raised a brow. "I can leave if you want, but if a hungry vampire comes in here smelling your blood, you're on your own."

I huffed. "Fine, you can stay."

That deadly expression flashed across his face again. "I don't need your permission."

I held my hands up in surrender. "Okay, dude, cool, whatever, don't get your panties in a twist!"

He growled at me and I automatically took a few steps back, which appeared to appease him, but not enough. "If Godric hadn't ordered me to keep you safe, I would have ripped your throat out hours ago."

I gulped and hastily made my way to the bathroom, sternly telling myself to keep my mouth shut – this was not someone I wanted to provoke. I stopped suddenly before the door, remembering I was still wearing his jacket.

"Um," I hesitantly slipped it off – noting all the holes in it from the spikes that had been used to tie me up. It was also drenched in blood; it looked pretty unsalvageable. I hesitantly handed it back to Eric, who looked at it in clear disgust and refused to touch it. I awkwardly dropped the jacket on the floor next to him, eyeing him the whole time with wide, apprehensive eyes.

He stared at me expressionlessly.

"Its not my fault," I told him and emboldened by his lack of response, I stupidly carried on, "in fact, this is your fault."

He looked surprised at my _blatant_ lie and it was the first genuine expression I had seen on his face and I caught my breath at how beautiful he was, despite my fear.

"How?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, it just is." And before he could like, murder me and hide the body, I hurried into the bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind me.

I quickly stripped off, almost weeping with joy when I got my dirty underwear off. Damn, it was one of my favourite sets – matching black bra and lace panties – and they were forever ruined.

I turned to put them on the counter and I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I did not know what to think. On the one hand, that weird voodoo vamp magic had my skin glowing and had cleared up any blemishes I had – that small scar on my chin had vanished without a trace. On the other hand, it was hard to see how good I looked when I was caked in a thick layer of dirt, dust and blood. My hair had matted together, turning messy curls into an extremely unattractive lump. I sighed deeply – it was going to take me forever to untangle it.

I hated my hair anyway. In this lighting it looked like the colour of fire but normally it was a calmer, copper colour. I always had to put up with people making jokes about a fire-fighter having fire coloured hair and let me tell you, it got real old, real quick.

The only part of my features that I actually liked were my eyes, however, due to my exhaustion and tears they were now puffy and bloodshot, somewhat taking away the wow factor of my big, golden, honey coloured eyes. People always admired blue or green eyes and ever since I was little, I had always wondered why they didn't do the same for brown ones? They were just as beautiful.

Getting in the shower was a dream come true – better than any orgasm I had ever had. I spent forty minutes in that shower – it had so many buttons and settings and I was going to try out each one. I was in heaven. Or pretending to be – I refused to think about what had happened to me until I got home. If I lost it, I wouldn't be getting it back for a while and I didn't want to have my breakdown in a house full of vampires.

Stepping out the shower, I grabbed one of the plush white towels and moaned at how it felt – it was like I was wrapping my body in marshmallow fluff. I opened the bathroom door and peered out, noting with relief that the bedroom was empty. I spotted a dress on the bed and eagerly rushed towards it before I saw movement in the corner of my eye.

I screamed and froze, very close to losing my grip on the towel. Thankfully, I managed to hold it up through sheer willpower alone.

Eric was lounging on an armchair in the corner, legs elegantly sprawled out and smirking downright sinfully at me.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you enjoy scaring naked women half to death?" I yelled, flushing. His eyes followed my blush as it spread all over my body and I cursed my fair skin to kingdom come.

"Yes. I do, but only if I'm naked with them."

I scowled at him, grabbing the dress that lay on the bed without looking at it and retreating as quickly as I could.

I slammed the bathroom door shut, grumbling under my breath when I heard him laugh mockingly from the other room. "Asshole."

I lifted the dress up and stared at it in shock – it was the exact same dress I had been wearing when I was kidnapped. How did Godric do that? I was impressed, despite myself.

I was not too thrilled about wearing it however – the dress was tight and, if I'm being entirely honest, slutty. I did not want to wear this in a vampire nest. I ddin't have a choice though – it wasn't like I had any other options.

That is when I came across my second, much worse dilemma – I did not have any underwear. There was no in hell I was putting my dirty underwear back on and I was too embarrassed to go back out there and ask Mr Pervert guarding the door to get me any. Did Godric not think to get me any underwear? Did vampires not need it? Why was this my life now?

Sighing in an incredibly world weary way, I pulled the black dress on, grateful for once that it was so tight – it held my boobs up in a flattering way (if I do say so myself) and there was no risk of a breeze blowing it up.

Maybe I could escape out the window and never have to face these people underwearless. I grinned to myself, and reached for the bathroom window, only to see that what I thought was the window was actually a thick metal screen, covering what should have been the window. Why…?

Oh, vampires – no sunlight. Right. That made sense. I wasn't any less crushed though.

I took a deep breath and faced my doom.

* * *

As soon as I had stepped out the bathroom, Eric eyed me with dark, lustful eyes, a broad smirk on his face.

"Eyes up here," I snapped, gesturing to my eyes. Before I could blink he was suddenly in my face and I flinched back, hitting the bathroom door where he had trapped me.

"Sure," he breathed, seductively, his face ghosting past mine. My heart was beating wildly in my chest and I was very confused – he hated me but he didn't mind hitting on me? This guy had issues.

His nose brushed my ear and I squeaked. I was then hit by a powerful memory of another vampire doing this exact same thing to me less than twenty-four hours ago. I could see where Eric got it from then.

Not wanting to humiliate myself twice, through the exact same fucking trick, I slowly started lowering myself, sliding down the door until Eric's face was no longer invading mine. I then darted out next to him, making my escape, knowing that he had let me do it.

I honestly didn't know what to think.

By the time Eric and I had made it from the bedroom to Godric, I was feeling just about ready to say fuck it to politeness and make a break for the door. I could feel several sets of eyes on me at all times, but whenever I tried to find who they belonged to, no one was facing me. It was driving me insane.

Thankfully, for some reason that was beyond me, Eric helped shield me from a lot of the staring this time and I hid behind his towering form.

"Why so shy?" he asked me, "would a strip tease make you feel more at home?"

I had had enough of this douchebag. "Shut up," I seethed.

He merely laughed at me.

When we caught sight of Godric, sitting stoically on a chair like he was a king and that was his throne, I scurried towards him, seeking safety with him from Eric's innuendo.

To my horror, Godric was just as bad, if not _worse_ than Eric.

At my approach, his eyes had darkened hungrily as they _raked_ over my form. I suppressed a shiver and crossed my arms, hoping to hide some of myself.

He pretended to frown, "Are you cold, Milia, feeling a bit… breezy?" he asked teasingly.

What? It couldn't be, right? That was not a veiled reference to my lack of underwear, it couldn't be.

"I must say; if I had walk about with no underwear on, I would be rather chilly too."

My jaw dropped. He- he had done this on purpose? What? Why the hell would he do that? Did he think he was going to get lucky tonight or something?

"You bastard!" I yelled, gearing myself up for a good rant when the room went silent and everyone stared at me. I went a bright, horrible red, and lost my momentum – if I wanted to scold him, I was going to have to reveal to the whole room that I wasn't wearing panties. My pride just couldn't take that.

I deflated and slumped onto a couch, questioning and regretting every moment that had led me here.

Godric was outright laughing at me now, still staring at me like he was dying of starvation and I was a banquet. I could feel my insides clench at his look, if you know what I mean, and it was almost like he knew? His eyes, if it was possible, darkened even further and it looked like something had snapped within him. What the hell is going on?

I don't know what would have happened then, but I was saved, mercifully, by Sookie who interrupted us loudly.

"Milia! I didn't expect to see you here!" She said, in a voice that strangely sounded like she was forcing herself to be cheery, almost like she knew what I was thinking and had deliberately engineered a rescue. But that was impossible so I quickly dismissed it from my mind.

"Sookie!" I greeted just as surprised, but in that moment I don't think I had ever loved another human being more. Thank you, Sookie Stackhouse! "Yeah, Godric, took me here to get cleaned up before I go home. You won't believe this – they used this weird vampire magic to heal me – all my wounds are gone! Isn't that crazy?"

"Vampire magic?" Sookie asked, her nose scrunched with confusion. Then her face cleared, like she had just realised something and then it clouded with anger. "Vampire magic! You—"

At that moment, her boyfriend, who I had since learned was called Bill, came for her, forcefully dragging her away as she yelled something about blood.

That was really weird.

"What was that about?" I asked Godric, puzzled.

He just smiled reassuringly at me. "It was nothing, little one."

"Okaaay," I replied doubtfully, eyeing him suspiciously. Thankfully, his eyes held the same, calm neutral expression that I was used to, and any of the hunger that I had glimpsed before was gone. I breathed a small sigh of relief.

We sat in companionable silence before I remembered something.

"Oh, hey! How did you get my dress? I thought I had left it behind at the Fellowship. And how did you get it cleaned so quickly?"

He looked at me like I was an idiot. "As far as I know, your dress is still there. I bought you a new one."

I gaped at him for a second time that evening. "What? I can't wear this! Take it back!"

He looked amused. "And what will you wear instead?"

Shit, hadn't thought of that. "Give me one your shirts – you owe me one anyway."

He smiled, "no, little one, I do not. If I recall correctly, our bet was for _that_ shirt, not another one. If you want another one of my shirts, you shall have to make a new bet."

I pouted at him, giving him the best puppy dog eyes in my arsenal, which were pretty effective, if I'm being honest here.

He chuckled. "That will not work on me, young one, you forget I am very old."

I sighed and slumped back in my chair. "But I don't have anything to give you."

"Oh," he said in a low voice, "that is far from true."

Huh?

"Like, I told you – I'm broke."

He smirked victoriously then, like he had me exactly where he wanted me and if I didn't know any better, I would say he had steered the conversation this way.

"What about our old agreement? Same stakes, new bet?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Deal."

We shook hands and I pretended that touching his skin wasn't affecting me and like my heart rate hadn't sped up. Hopefully vampires didn't notice things like that.

"What will we bet on?" I asked, eying him curiously.

He pretended to think and I realised he had had a new bet planned this whole time. Sneaky bastard.

"How about we bet on how long it takes for us to see each other again?"

I stared at him in confusion. "What? But we aren't going to see each other again. I'm moving to Bon Temps, you live in Dallas."

He sighed mockingly, "well then, I guess we have nothing to bet on."

I don't know why I even cared, or why I was so desperate to make a bet with him – its not like I was in desperate need of a man's shirt. But there was something about him, something alluring and tempting and it was making me want to see him again.

That would be the last time, I promised myself. I did not need to get involved with vampires – my life was full of excitement and danger as it is – I sure as hell didn't have room for more. These vampires spelled nothing but trouble.

"Fine. I bet that I will see you again in…." I took a moment to think, "a month."

He smiled devilishly. "I bet we will see each other again in less than a week."

My mouth fell open in astonishment. Why would we see each other again so soon?

"Deal, I guess."

He smiled at my reply.

We sat in silence for a while longer, but by then I had gotten a little thirsty. Weirdly, there had been water bottles in the bathroom and I had chugged them all down, having not had anything to drink for almost an entire day. I guess I was still slightly dehydrated.

I made my way to his awesome kitchen, which was also unsurprisingly very large, and had a glass of water before making my way back to Godric. Avoiding eye contact the entire way.

Just as I passed the hallway leading out of the main room, I caught sight of a man in a large dark coat. Shit. This could not be good. All my instincts were screaming at me that something terrible was going to happen. The way he walked, the look in his eyes – it all spelled trouble. I pushed my way over to him, trying to stop whatever was about to happen but I was too late.

"Excuse me, everyone." He yelled. The whole room turned to stare. I was still forcing my way to him.

"Luke, what the hell are you doing?" I heard Jason yell from somewhere.

"My name is Luke McDonald. I'm a member of the Fellowship of the Sun and I have a message for you, from the Reverend Steve Newlin." He unzipped his coat to reveal a bomb, wrapped in silver chains and wooden bullets, strapped to his chest. He was holding a detonator in his hand and the timer on the bomb was stuck on one second.

He raised his thumb, about to push the button, when I jumped up in front of him.

"Luke!"

He paused and I tried to give him a shaky smile. I had startled him and momentarily caught his attention. Good.

"Luke is it?" I asked and he nodded. I had his curiosity now.

"You're that bitch from earlier, why should I listen to you?"

"Well, as you heard earlier – I'm a member of the DFD. If you were listening, you would know I was at the church today through a simple mistake – I saved a vampire once, as my job description entails and Hotshot lost his job because of it. He had ordered me to let her die. I'm ashamed to admit," a lie, I wasn't ashamed at all, "that I punched him before directly disobeying his orders and saving the vampire. I know you may not want to listen to anyone here, but I'm telling you – I'm different, I'm not one of them."

I was bullshitting of course – one of the first things you had to do when dealing with someone dangerous and hostile was to calm him or her and to do that you had to establish a relationship. I was hoping he would see me as more of an ally than an enemy. I just prayed that everyone else here were smart enough to keep their mouths shut and let me handle him – if anyone else here tried to speak to him, he wouldn't view them as an ally and they may well provoke him.

"Do you think you could spare a moment to listen to me, Luke?"

He nodded, slowly, and I could see the sweat pouring from his brow, his hands were shaking. I breathed a small sigh of relief. I had just bought myself some time to analyse the bomb before me. I had taken a class at the academy once – on explosives and EODs. It had been optional but they recommended we all take it, because in this day and age, you never knew what you would run into as a member of the emergency services.

Looking at him, I could tell he had never done anything like this before. He looked like he had never even seen real violence before and I knew that his knowledge of explosive devices was limited to whatever he could find on Google. This was good news – it meant that the bomb would be simple and easy to disarm, without backups and trick wires. Even just looking at the bomb I could tell it was crude.

"You don't have to do this." I started off, going down the expected route. He started crying and I took the opportunity to peer at the bomb more closely. The room appeared to be holding its breath; everyone frozen in place, not wanting to trigger the man whose finger was a mere millimeter from their destruction.

I was surprised that none of the vampires had surged forward to attack – the one in the cowboy hat looked like he was reckless enough to. I figured that whoever was in charge was smart enough to know not to risk it, and was holding back the more thoughtless members of this household.

Luke's anguished tears fell down his face. "Yes, yes I do," he cried, "vampires are a curse, an abomination and we need to send them a message. A message that they won't be tolerated and that God will always win."

I nodded slowly at him, still holding my hands out in front of me in a calming gesture that also let him know I was not armed.

"I understand that, Luke, but do you think that God would want you to do this? There are humans in this house, Luke, and the Bible says that murder is always wrong – do you think that you will be allowed to enter heaven if you're last act on earth is murder?"

Bingo, I spotted the wire I needed to disarm the bomb. If I could reach that wire and pull it out before he pressed that small red button, I could save us.

"No! The Bible says that killing others is justified in the name of war and _this is war_!"

Seeing that it was either now or never for me and seeing that I could no longer hold him off, I lunged forward. At the same time, he pushed that small red button. I flew forward and time really did seem to slow down this time as I yanked out the small blue wire just as the timer hit zero.

I flinched.

The room around me exploded into noise and fury. Before I could take a breath, I was pushed to the side as the vampire wearing the cowboy hat grabbed Luke by the throat, crushing his windpipe.

"Stop!" I yelled, desperate, tugging at his arms. "Be careful, if you jostle him it could accidently set off the bomb! You could get us all killed!"

That caught his attention and he slowly lowered Luke to the ground. Luke was screaming and crying, yelling prayers and curses simultaneously. At my words, he immediately started thrashing, hoping to set the bomb off accidentally.

"Eric, restrain him. Make sure he cannot move. Let it be known now that no harm should come to this man – he will be dealt with by the human authorities." Godric's voice effortlessly rose above the confusion, ringing with his earlier authority and power and I realised that he was the one in charge here. Wow.

Everyone was too relieved to still be alive and shocked at what had just happened to put up much of a fight if they disagreed with his orders.

It was at that moment that my legs gave out and I collapsed to the floor, struggling to breathe – this night had been way too much. I had almost died so many times nothing was registering anymore. I didn't notice as the people around me celebrated, hugging their friends, lovers, family, whoever, in celebration. All I could do was stare blankly at the wooden floor, fascinated by the grain pattern.

Hours could have passed, or mere seconds, I couldn't tell, before I was lifted from the floor in the strong arms of Godric. He was staring at me in what only could be described as awe. I didn't get it – he was an old, powerful vampire and I was just a tiny human who had a serious penchant for trouble. I looked behind Godric to see Eric and for the first time he was looking at me with an openly positive expression. I couldn't identify any of the emotions on his face, however, because as soon as he caught me looking at him, it immediately fell into a cold, expressionless mask.

I have said it before and I will say it again: what is going on?

"Um, Godric," I said hesitantly, anxiously, "about what I said earlier, about not liking all of you or being associated with all of you, I was lying."

He smiled softly at me. "We know."

I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful a vampire wasn't going to come flying around the corner yelling traitor and ripping my throat out.

Godric gently put me down and the Stackhouse siblings appeared out of nowhere to envelope me in a warm hug.

"Milia, that was amazing!" Sookie exclaimed, crushing my ribcage with her tiny arms.

"Yeah – you're a real life hero," Jason yelled excitedly, also crushing my lungs.

Before I could reply, he had bent down and swooped me up onto his shoulders.

"Three cheers for Amelia – our hero!" He shouted.

My face went red from embarrassment. "No, no don't – please! I was literally doing my job, please, you don't need to cheer."

But my protests were drowned out as most of the room cheered for me. I wanted to die from humiliation and I hid my face in Jason's hair, which made him laugh. It was the same laugh half the girls in Bon Temps were in love with, but it just made me grin fondly at him.

Some of the vampires that I assumed were more hostile to humans didn't cheer and instead rolled their eyes, scoffing in disgust – which was fine by me, I preferred their reaction to everyone else's.

Eventually, Jason placed me back on the ground, laughing heartily; he saw something over my shoulder and his laugh died in his throat. His face went pale. I was still giggling but catching sight of his expression, I peered at him in concern. "Jason? Are you all right?"

I turned to look behind me but all I could see was Godric and Eric. Huh. I wonder what had spooked him.

I smiled at the Stackhouse siblings as they bid me goodbye and waved them off, making my way over to Godric.

"Did you call 911?"

He nodded. He seemed strangely standoffish with me.

"They're sending the police, bomb squad and DFD, right?"

He nodded again.

"Where are we? What neighbourhood is this?"

"Near East."

I squealed in excitement and he looked taken aback.

"That's my district! My Firehouse is on their way!"

And before he could say anything else, I rushed outside, standing on the street and eagerly waiting for what was basically my second family to appear.

* * *

I had been waiting for less than five minutes when I heard sirens and less than a minute later I watched as Truck 28 pulled up a few metres from me.

I felt nervous now; unsure I actually wanted to see them. Did they know I had been kidnapped? Were they worried about me? Would they be mad at me? I looked behind me and saw that Godric's entire nest had gathered outside to watch the human authorities. From what I understood, the vampires thought that the human emergency services were hilarious and fascinating.

I caught sight of Godric and Eric. Godric was my burning holes into me with his eyes and Eric was watching the fire truck with boredom and disinterest.

I turned back to the truck and watched as everyone piled out. They were acting strange – excited and urgent.

Jesse Taylor, my best and longest friend, pushed his way to the front of the group and immediately caught sight of me. He froze. I froze.

The rest of the truck immediately caught onto to his behaviour and turned to see what he was staring at. They also froze. I would have felt embarrassed by our audience but I was too focused on my friends to care

We were caught in a stare off until Jesse broke into the biggest smile I had ever seen on him and loud cheering erupted from the group. Then we were all running at each other. Tears of happiness were streaming down my face as I was engulfed in the tidal wave that is known as Firehouse 28.

"I knew it" I heard Mckinnely yell, "I knew it! We knew it was you as soon as we heard a red haired girl had gotten into trouble with a bomb over the radio."

"Kent! You're alive! Where have you been? We missed you!"

"You stupid girl, we were all worried sick about you."

"Kent, if you ever pull this shit again I'm going to kill you."

I didn't know who to speak to. I was passed from person to person, hugged by everyone at least _twice_ , until there was no more air left in body. Everyone was crying, cheering, trying to get a word in as they checked for themselves that I was alive and well.

Eventually we all settled down, and the others moved off to actually, you know, _do their job_ , but not after threatening me with bodily harm if I didn't sit them all down later and explain exactly what had happened.

Only Jesse had stayed with me, and everyone knew better than to separate us, especially at a moment like this.

Jesse Taylor was a tall, muscular twenty one year old with dark curls and piercing green eyes. He was always dubbed the 'Hot Fireman' whenever we got calls. I always made fun of him for it.

We just stood there, hugging, for as long as we could – not needing words to say what we were feeling. We knew each other too well for that.

The sound of police sirens broke us apart and I wondered what had taken them so long to get here.

The rest of what appeared to be the entirety of Dallas PD rushed around us, trying to control the scene and take statements. Bomb squad had already arrived and were dealing with the bomb strapped to Luke's chest a few fields over, where he had been moved after Eric had restrained him.

Two deputy officers stepped up, and as soon as the younger one caught sight of me he immediately started yelling to his partner.

"I knew it! You owe me fifty bucks."

"Excuse me?" I demanded hands on my hips.

"Oh, no, don't take offense ma'am." He explained, holding his hands out soothingly. "Its just that, as soon as we heard that a fire-fighter in this district got into bomb trouble, I bet my partner here that you two were involved – you always are."

I was Offended. How rude, how presumptuous – it didn't matter if it was true – I was furious. Jesse knew exactly how I would react and as I lunged at the two men, trying to give them an earful, he put a hand over my mouth and dragged me back into the house, easily dodging all my kicks and punches as I struggled with him.

He set me back down in the living room and gave me a stern look. I immediately deflated, pouting at him.

"Those eyes don't work on me anymore," he laughed, "especially not after you used them on my brother to get fake IDs last year."

I rolled my eyes, "don't be so dramatic, it wasn't that bad."

He snorted. "Not that bad? You were doing a drunk strip tease in the middle of the bar!"

I shot forward and placed a hand over his mouth. "You keep your mouth shut!"

But it was too late; the damage was done.

As if the words "strip tease" had magically summoned him, Eric Northman appeared. Followed by Godric shortly afterwards.

"What's this I hear about strip teasing, human? It seems you have a thing for that. You know, I own a very infamous bar in Shreveport and we are always looking for new _talented_ dancers." Eric winked at me.

"Well, she has been looking for part time work," Jesse mused, pretending to look thoughtful.

"You ass!" I said to him before sucker punching him in the gut. He coughed and bent over, gasping for breath. Godric looked weirdly proud of me.

"Worth it," he breathed. Honestly, he knew me well enough by now that he should have seen that one coming."You know, I was going to give you a fair warning before Chief arrived, but now I don't think I will."

My face transformed into a look of horror. "Chief," I whispered.

"Uh huh – if you thought the rest of us were mad about your disappearing act, then you're in for a surprise when you see Chief. He was only a few minutes behind us as well. I reckon you only have seconds before he arrives. You best start running, Kent."

"But I was kidnapped – it was hardly my fault."

"Oh, he knows," Jesse continued, pretending to be oblivious to my terror, "and he is still really pissed. As far as he is concerned, you're a stupid, reckless magnet for trouble, who should know better than to walk home in the dark on your own, especially when everyone knows you can't find your way back when you're drunk."

I paused for a moment. "Please wear black to my funeral."

"Don't worry, I got you – I'll play 'Born to Die' when they bring your coffin in."

I patted him on the arm. "You're a true friend."

"I know."

McKinnely was passing us at that moment and snorted, "You two are ridiculous."

We simultaneously stuck out tongues out at him, acting like the three year olds we were inside.

* * *

 **Ta daaaa!**

 **So, a lot happened in this chapter.**

 **Poor, poor Milia - she was manipulated so many times and Godric now has her exactly where he wants her.**

 **In case it wasn't clear - he gave her his blood to heal her and because she obviously doesn't know anything about vampires, he lied about it. Tsk, tsk, naughty Godric.**

 **A song I thought fitted Milia perfectly in this chapter is 'Trouble' by Neon Jungle. Lets hope she doesn't do a strip tease to it ;)**

 **And yes, Amelia grew up in Bon Temps! Although, she obviously didn't know Sookie and Jason that well, which makes sense as she is a few years younger than them.**

 **Side note: I know nothing about Dallas, the DFD or explosives so please don't take anything I say about these as accurate because they are not.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Next chapter: We meet Chief, Godric's suicidal intentions are dealt with head on, we meet this mysterious vampire Milia saved and Milia finally, finally gets to go home.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone!**

 **Thank you so so so much for all your reviews they mean so much to me and really keep me motivated when I feel less creative.**

 **In this chapter the plot moves along a bit further, and we start getting some explanations about vampire saving events that happened before the story started, and, most excitingly, the romance between Milia and Godric starts to heat up a little more.**

 **Rated M: strong language, discussions of suicide, violence and sexual references.**

 **As always constructive criticism is welcome.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

I was pretty damn exhausted. It had been the longest three days of my life and I was just about ready to go home and finally, finally get into my soft bed. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.

The sound of yet more sirens pulling up outside Godric's house filled me with fear.

Shit. It was chief. Time to make my great escape.

I swiftly started to edge out of the room, ducking around people and pretending not to notice Jesse and the vampires' amused gazes following me and to my surprise it was working, the exit was so close, I could almost taste the freedom when –

"Kent! Stay where you are."

I sighed deeply and looked at the ceiling, feeling a deep sense of betrayal from the universe. "Busted."

I looked away from the ceiling in time to see Chief storming up to me, eyes blazing. He stood towering over me and glared furiously.

Chief was a big, burly, forty five year old man, with a thick moustache and dark skin. He was the authority in Firehouse 28 and he ruled us with a benevolent but iron fist.

The whole room had gone silent and everyone was turned to watch the show. Great. I sighed deeply; I had been on the receiving end of this whole shebang more then a few times. Actually that probably didn't reflect very well on me at all.

The rest of Firehouse 28 had showed up to watch as well, but I detected sympathy in their gazes – everyone in our house had experienced the humiliation of being scolded like an eight year old by Chief at least once. Being a fire fighter is often similar to being in the army in some ways – there is a lot of waiting around. When you have house full of bored, mentally questionable, adrenaline junkies, very stupid and very dangerous things tended to happen.

"Why is it, Kent," Chief bellowed, "that I always find you in the middle of some life or death situation?"

I stared at him. "Um, because its our job?" I was confused.

"No – goddammit!" He was frustrated. Uh oh, that did not bode well for me. "I meant when we are off duty! Actually now that we are on topic you are always at the centre of the drama when we're on duty as well."

I was offended. Offended! In a gesture reminiscent of a two year old, I stamped my foot in frustration. "Hey! Jesse was shot just last month on the subway," I pointed at Jesse accusingly, shamelessly throwing him under the bus to save myself. " _I_ have never been shot!"

Someone coughed and Mckinnely, the traitor, spoke up. "That was _such_ a blatant lie! Yes you have, Milia, _w_ _e were all there!_ "

Shit, he was right. I had mentally blocked that one. We had been called out to a really bad part of town where one of the local gangs had set fire to a rival gang's base of operations. I had gotten too pushy with one and they had shot me. In the leg. It was _not_ fun, let me tell you, but it was hardly life threatening. They had also shot one of our paramedics who had been trying to persuade them to go to the hospital to be treated for a stab wound. It was one of the worst calls we had ever gotten and I had forcibly tried to forget it.

I whipped around to glare furiously at him, "Shut it, Mckinnely!"

I turned back to Chief and froze. He was wearing his I'm-two seconds-away-from-exploding face. Time go.

"Okay, byeee." I put as much cheer into my voice as I could and started to slowly back out of the room. Chief rolled his eyes and to my shock, pulled me into the most bone-crushing hug I had received yet – and that was saying something, I had received a _lot_ of bone crushing that day.

"Just don't ever do that to us again, Kent, or you will be washing that truck until the day you die."

I pretended to huff and hugged him back. My father had left us when I was about four years old – I didn't remember him so it had never really bothered me. Ever since I had moved to Dallas three years ago, Chief Jones had become my father figure. I sniffled slightly against his shoulder; the emotional roller coaster I had gone through that day had left me feeling weepy and sentimental. Being in the arms of a parent, or a parent-like figure, made me realise, for the first time, just how close to death I had been. In his embrace, I felt like a small child again, scared and looking for someone to tell me it was all right. I allowed myself one, small sob against his shoulder and then tried to pull myself back together again. I didn't have long to wait until I could go to bed and cry all I wanted. Chief allowed me to hide against his chest as I pulled myself together before he pulled away, and for that I was grateful.

He patted me on the back. "We will talk about this later, for now, go home and get some sleep."

I gave him a watery smile, and let Jesse gently guide me to the head detective to give my statement.

After taking my statement, the police officer said that I may have to go down to the station for follow up questions but that for now, I was free to go. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I could go home! I could curl up in my soft, pink sheets and I could wear my oldest and most comfortable pyjamas and sip hot cocoa.

At this point, I should have expected it – I really should've seen it coming. When has anything gone my way in the last few days? Since meeting Godric, my life had become a thousand times more difficult.

I really wanted to go home but I also felt like I had to say goodbye to Godric and thank him, for, you know, saving my life and all that. Although, by stopping the bomb I had kind of saved his, right? So we were pretty much even. It still felt incredibly ungrateful to just leave though. Despite our bet – I still didn't think we would see each other again. The biological difference and the travel distance between us just made it seem very unlikely.

I knew he was suicidal but at this point – I had tried my best, there was nothing more I could do for him. His fate was in his own hands now, as dramatic as that sounds.

"Milia, hey, I asked Chief if he would let me take this shift off to take you home – lets get going." Jesse wrapped me up in a warm blanket, trying to steer me in the direction of the car.

"No, wait, I need to say goodbye." I pushed past him, trying to find Godric.

"Why? He is just a vampire." Jesse frowned in concern, and I turned to smack him.

"Don't be rude! He saved my life. And when have you ever cared about vampires or had a strong opinion on them?"

He sighed, "I'm sorry Milia, you're right – I just don't like the way he looks at you. He could have taken you straight home – to your worried loved ones who had no idea where you were - but instead he takes you to his house where your life is put in danger _again._ I'm just worried about you."

I stared at him shock – now he had laid it all out there like that, Godric's behaviour was pretty strange and very inconsiderate. But then again, he didn't see it from my perspective – Godric had healed me when he didn't have to and its not his fault that a suicide bomber had decided that his house was the perfect vacation spot. He took me to his house to get cleaned up so my friends didn't have to see me covered in blood, looking like I had almost died, which was more than generous of him. I wasn't stupid enough to think he didn't have ulterior motives that I couldn't even begin to guess at, but I truly believed that, in this situation anyway, he had been putting my health and well-being before whatever need he had of me.

"I understand where you're coming from, Jess, I do but he has done nothing but look out for me when he didn't have to. If it weren't for him I would have _died_ in that church. I promise I will explain everything properly later, but for now I just want to say goodbye to him and get to bed." I looked at Jesse pleadingly, hoping he wouldn't decide to push it – Jesse can be very protective of his friends, too protective, if you ask me.

He looked reluctant but after a few seconds he gave in and nodded, giving me a small hug before going to get the car while I tried to find Godric.

I really didn't have to look far for him – it was almost like he had a radar for me or something, but I guess that's just how his vampire senses worked.

"Milia." Godric always said my name weirdly but I couldn't really place how it was strange – it was just different to the way everyone said it, like he saw me in a different light to everyone else.

"Godric!" I exclaimed. "I just wanted to say goodbye – I'm going home now for some well earned rest. It was…" I looked for the right words, "interesting meeting you."

His eyes darkened and he stepped closer to me. "Goodbye? Have you already forgotten our bet, _vacker_?"

"Did you just call me fucker?" I asked, appalled, and quite hurt. If Eric had called me that, I would have thought nothing of it but I thought I had shared something with Godric – that we were friends.

He laughed, and I felt my blood boil.

"No, little one, I said _vacker_."

"Huh? What is that, German? What does it mean?"

He only smiled at me. Ugh, I was too tired for this shit.

"Anyway," I continued, "I wanted to say goodbye and to thank you for all your help." I wasn't sure whether or not I should hug him – did vampires think it was rude? Would he assume I was trying to attack him or something?

I decided to just throw caution to the wind and go for it and I practically jumped on him (its as embarrassing as it sounds), throwing my arms around his neck. I felt him stiffen and immediately panicked. Abort, abort – mission compromised! As I hastily drew back, I felt his hands settle on my hips before sliding around my waist. I shivered and bit my lip. This stupid dress (I hated it so much oh my god it had caused me so many problems, it was going straight in the bin when I got back) was so thin Godric might as well have been touching my skin and I felt my insides _sing_ at the feeling of his hands on me. Goddamit, body, why would you betray me like this? I honestly didn't know what was wrong with me – I was acting like a horny teenager!

However, those feelings soon settled down and I pretty much melted into his arms. Who knew a vampire could hug this well? I had read something on the Internet once about professional huggers, like; people you pay to cuddle with and I think Godric had a really promising career ahead of him if the vampire thing doesn't work out.

The hug was lasting a really long time and things started getting really awkward, really fast and as I slowly tried to pull myself out of his arms, it almost felt like Godric was holding me tighter.

"Um, this was nice and all but could you maybe let me go? Human hugs don't really tend to last this long."

He abruptly let me go, and I stumbled back, surprised.

"That is strange, considering your earlier hug with that human male lasted for a very long time," he bit out, seemingly very pissed off. I don't really know what had made him so angry and I didn't care – he had no right to be angry with me.

"So? Why does that matter? He has been my friend since, well, since before I can remember and up until that moment he didn't know if I was dead or alive! Of course my hug with him would last a very long time compared to the hug I gave you – I have only just met you!" I had had it up to here with these vampires – I was done. Their confusing behaviour, weird looks and strange demands were something I no longer needed to bother myself with – he could take his stupid bet and shove it up his ass for all I cared! I had been through too much in the last few days to be dealing with vampires as well. Jesse had been right to be distrustful of them – they were only going to bring me a world of hurt and trouble, I didn't care how nice their hugs were. "You know what? I don't need this. You don't have to worry about our bet anymore – you won't be seeing me again."

And in my head I turned around, stormed off, found Jesse and went home to bed. In reality, however, I turned and _tried_ to storm off but was instead stopped dead in my tracks when what felt like a vice clamped down on my arm.

I turned back to Godric, a fierce glare in place and faltered.

Godric was wearing a very dangerous look on his face. His eyes were burning into me with such intensity that it almost hurt to look at him. He looked _furious_ with me.

"What – I – you –"

He cut off my awkward, confused stammering.

"You _will_ honour our bet, Amelia." He still didn't let me go, his eyes were boring into me as though he were trying to see inside me, trying to see my soul. His eyes held so many complex emotions in them that I didn't even try and identify them.

I gaped at him, "uh – um, what?" I know, I was a picture of sophistication and coherency.

But all he did was stand there, searching my eyes for something and then vanished. I guess he found whatever he was looking for.

I sighed deeply and wearily made my way over to Jesse, who had by now brought the car around, looking at me worriedly.

By the time we pulled up at our shared apartment, Jesse and I were dead on our feet and were sluggishly making our way up the stairs.

I almost started crying at the sight of our blue door, with the small chip near the handle and by the time I made into bed I was all out sobbing.

* * *

 _Tap._

I opened my eyes blearily, unsure as to what had woken me but feeling pretty pissed about it. It had taken me a long time to get to sleep; I couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened to me. Seeing nothing in my room I tried to lie back down.

 _Tap. Tap._

Sighing in frustration, I stood up, peering around my room more carefully but I still could not see anything out of place. Maybe I was paranoid.

 _Tap. Tap. Tap._

It – it sounded like it was coming from the window? But we lived on the fifth floor.

Now very, very scared I contemplated my choices – did I go to the window and risk death or bodily harm? Or did I simply leave the room and wait it out?

I decided to risk death and bodily harm because the sooner I dealt with this, the sooner I could go back to sleep – it was probably a bird or something.

Irritated, I drew back the curtains and stared in silent horror. It was a woman.

There was a woman floating outside my window.

What. The. Fuck.

I immediately started to back away, eyes wide with horror. The woman was very familiar – weirdly familiar. And then it clicked – it was the vampire I had rescued from the fire all those months ago.

I froze. Stared. She smiled charmingly, like she wasn't floating sixty feet in the air outside my apartment building, and pointed at the latch, telling me to open it.

And because I was so, _so_ done with all this vampire bullshit I opened it. To be fair I was planning to tell her to fuck off. The one thing I knew about vampires was that they needed an invitation to come in so I was perfectly safe telling her to fuck off through the open window.

She smiled widely. "Amelia, darling, it's so good to see you."

"Fuck off."

"Oh," she pouted, "that's rather rude, Amelia, dear."

I sighed deeply. "Look, lady, I have had a hell of a night, well, last few days actually, and I just want to sleep."

"I know – I am actually here to check up on you."

"What?"

"Yes. Look, it would be easier to sit you down and explain all this inside – invite me in."

I gave her a very unimpressed look. She rolled her eyes.

"If I wanted to kill you or drink your blood, I would have already done it by now – I have been keeping tabs on you."

"This is meant to persuade me to invite you in how? That isn't very reassuring – you basically just told me you have been stalking me."

"Don't be so dramatic. If you invited me in I could tell you _why_ I have been keeping tabs on you." She looked at me expectantly and when I still didn't budge she sighed deeply. "You saved my life – you're the last person I want to hurt."

I sighed deeply as well. "Come in."

Maybe it was stupid, maybe I was about to die, but at this point I was too tired to care. She had seemed genuine and sincere and I believed her.

I opened the window as wide as it would go and she slipped inside, as lithe and graceful as a cat and just as silent.

She straightened and it was a struggle not to blush. She was honestly one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Long blonde hair that cascaded down her back in artful waves, big, green cat eyes and plump, soft, blood red lips. She had the kind of beauty men died for. She was dressed like a rich heiress; all designer labels, tall heels and a willowy dress.

She noticed my staring and winked, lowering her lashes and staring at me through hooded eyes – like I wasn't wearing baggy Batman pyjamas.

"I would offer you a seat in the kitchen, but if we talked in there we would wake up my roommate," I stuttered.

"Ah, yes, Jesse, is it? The _delicious_ fire-fighter," she purred, draping herself across the armchair in the corner.

"Yeah, him." Everyone always reacted that way to Jesse and his abs.

We sat in a comfortable silence while she examined my room, eyeing my work clothes with clear distaste.

"You're looking awfully well for someone who was burnt practically to a crisp the last time I saw you," I commented after a while, once again in awe at the vampire ability to heal.

She gave me a dry look and acted as though I hadn't spoken. "You're probably wondering why I am here, correct?"

"Well, yeah – you don't have to act so mysterious. You're being kind of annoying actually; you demanded to be let in so you could tell me something and then you just sit there in silence."

"I apologise," she said, completely unapologetically, "I just haven't been in a human's bedroom for a few centuries and curiosity got the better of me. Let's get to business, shall we?"

"Please."

"The reason I have been keeping tabs on you is rather a… delicate situation. You, my dear beautiful, brave, hero, pissed off a lot of people off when you recused me from that fire. It took a lot digging for me to get to the truth of the matter, but what I found is very concerning and I owe it to you to warn you."

"Thanks?"

"Don't interrupt. You see, I was the beautiful, charming and _excellent_ leader of a small nest of vampires here in Dallas and my second in command was, understandably, jealous of my good looks and skills. He hired that fire fighter, what was his name again? Oh, yes, Johnson –"

"Hotshot. We all called him Hotshot."

"Yes, him, to set the fire in my apartment then order his men not rescue me. Your kind aren't particularly fond of us so my right-hand man figured no one would risk their lives to go into to a burning building to save a monster. He was wrong, of course. Incredibly stupid of him, if you ask me, not to have a contingency plan in place for that very scenario – but that's why I was in charge and he wasn't. Anyway, my old nest mates are very angry that I'm not dead and now I am hunting them down, one by one, they're going to want revenge, and you, my pretty, little redhead are an easy outlet for that."

I felt my heart rate pick up in fear, but swallowed it down. "That was an awfully convoluted and complicated way to kill you – couldn't they just stake you instead?"

"No – I am much older and therefore much stronger than them – they had to kill me during the day when I could not defend myself. Cowards."

"Then why not hire someone to stake you during the day? Why go to all that trouble, setting a fire and making it look like an accident – like they were almost victims themselves?"

"Because the vampire Sherriff," she rolled her eyes at my confused look, "the vampire in charge of this area, is very strict and plays fair – in the last fifty years he has been cracking down on human and vampire murders alike. He is far older and far more powerful than me, and therefore, my old nest. If I had been staked in my own home, during the day, there would have been an investigation and they would have been caught. No, I hate to admit it, but their plan was clever."

It was all too much. I had almost died so many times in the last few days, and now to be told that there would very likely another attempt in the future just sent me right off the edge. I couldn't breathe, I felt like I was going to be sick, it was like the room was closing in on me and my heart was going to beat right out of my chest.

To my surprise, the vampire lounging in my room was by my side in a flash, coaching me through the panic attack and guiding my breathing. I had thought she would have been out the window and gone faster than I could blink at the thought of having to comfort a scared human.

Eventually I calmed down, and she settled back on the bed with me, stroking my hair. It was nice.

"I have been keeping an eye on you for the last few months to keep you safe – I felt like I owed it to you but the _one night_ I decide you will be ok on your own, you get kidnapped. Typical. You really are a magnet for disaster, you know – far more trouble than you're worth."

"So I have been told."

I turned to look at her and was caught in her heated gaze, my eyes dropping to her plush lips.

Sex was a really good way to distract myself from my problems and here I was, cuddling a beautiful woman in my bed. There really wasn't a better opportunity than this. I leaned forward to kiss her and as my lips brushed hers (they really were as soft as they looked) she pulled back, placing her hand over my mouth.

"I would love to, kitten, _trust me_ , I really would. But, alas, you have already been claimed."

I blinked up at her in confusion. "What?"

She rolled her eyes (again, Jesus, how many times was she going to do that?) and sighed in exasperation. "Claimed, taken, spoken for – whatever you want to call it; I can't touch you without inducing the wrath of someone who smells very, very powerful."

"What does that even mean? What is going on? No one has claimed me! How can you even tell?"

"I can smell their blood."

What? "What? What the hell does that mean?" I was getting frustrated now and very cross. Why are vampires so complicated? What does being claimed mean? I don't belong to anyone!

She stared at me contemplatively. "Tell me what happened to you. Don't leave out any details."

So I did. By the end, she was staring at me like I was a complete and utter moron.

"You're an utter moron."

'Thanks," I grumbled sarcastically, crossing my arms and pouting. "So what does all this mean? Who claimed me and how?"

"I am not completely sure. You fell asleep in the car on the way to Godric's nest?"

"Yes."

"And you woke up completely healed?"

"Yes."

"Tell me their exact words."

"Well, I woke up and was obviously confused and I asked what had happened. Godric shared this weird look with Eric and said that he had healed me with vampire magic but that he couldn't tell me how because vampire law forbids it. I don't see what any of this has to do with someone claiming me or whatever."

"No, you wouldn't," she muttered, still looking thoughtful. I waited in silence while she thought. "I'm sorry, sweet pea, but I don't think I can tell you either."

"What?" I demanded, outraged. "But someone has claimed possession of me without telling me! I deserve to know."

"And I agree," she sighed, "but by telling you I risk potentially pissing off someone very powerful and I'm not willing to do that, no matter how much your pretty doe eyes plead with me."

I huffed, once again too exhausted to put up much of a fight. "Whatever – I will just tell Godric what someone has done and he can fix it for me."

For some reason, that made her laugh. I gave her a disgruntled look but she continued to laugh at me. Fucking vampires.

"What even is your name?" I asked, only just realising she hadn't actually given me one. When I rescued her, she had been a little too… burnt to tell me her name and she hadn't introduced herself when she had climbed in through my window.

"Oh, yes, how rude of me. My name is Leanna Caswell." She mockingly held out her hand for me to shake, which I did, giving her a wry grin.

"Cool. So what are you going to do now? Make a new nest?"

And then, strangely, a very sad look came across her face and to me she looked almost… lonely.

"I don't know. I had thought they were my friends but, I guess not." She laughed bitterly, "their loss. I don't really have anyone else."

I stared at her hesitantly, biting my lip indecisively before deciding to just go for it – she needed someone. "Well, you have at least one friend."

She glanced at me, surprised, before snorting elegantly. "You? If I hang out with you I will end up in my grave far faster than any of my old nest could send me there."

I scowled at her and she laughed again, ruffling my hair condescendingly. "I suppose I could put up with you, if you didn't wear that ghastly uniform of yours in my presence."

I pretended to think it over before grinning widely. "I can live with that."

She sighed. "I'm probably going to live to regret this."

* * *

Leanna had left shortly after our newfound friendship had been formed – citing the inevitable approach of the sun as her excuse. I had fallen immediately back to sleep – too emotionally drained to think.

I woke up at midday and spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch, watching children's cartoons and snacking on junk food to take my mind off of everything. Jesse had gotten up hours before and left for work, but had stuck a very sweet note on the fridge for me, offering support and someone to talk to. Cecily, our third roommate, had also left a note on the fridge saying she was glad I was safe, which, for her, was a pretty big gesture. Cecily didn't really like us – we were loud and dramatic and constantly pulling dumb stunts – we didn't blame her.

Cecily worked as a stripper at a local club at night and slept during the day. Her loud snoring had always really irritated me but now, as I sat in the living room, it was a comfort, something familiar and safe.

By the time the sun had set, I had watched so many cartoons that my eyes were beginning to blur and I took a shower, which turned out to be a good choice when my phone rang moments after I had stepped out.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Amelia Kent?" The woman on the other end of the phone sounded influential and professional.

"Yes?" I answered suspiciously, eyeing the front door warily. Could this be Leanna's old nest mates?

"This is the AVL and we are requesting your presence at the Hotel Carmilla to discuss the events of yesterday evening."

I sighed deeply, covering the phone so I could groan loudly. "Is my presence necessary?"

"Yes."

"Fine. I will be there. What time should I arrive at?"

"As soon as possible – just give your name to the receptionist when you arrive." The woman then hung up, without so much as a goodbye.

"Rude," I mumbled under my breath before slowly dragging myself to the closet and picking out a deliberately casual outfit. I knew they probably wanted me to turn up in something semi professional and decided that yoga pants and a baggy crop top was the _perfect_ outfit to spite them with.

It didn't take me long to reach the hotel and as soon as I stepped into the lobby I almost hightailed it out of there – it was obviously designed purely for vampires and all the black and red leather was ridiculously cliche.

I took a breath and steeled myself before marching over to the receptionist, my head held high. She gave me directions to the penthouse suite (nice – I had never seen the inside of one before) and I took the lift up, feeling increasingly nervous.

The lift seemed to take forever and by the time I reached the top floor, the palms of my hands were slightly sweaty from fear. I nervously wiped my palms on my pants and stepped up to the room door, raising my fist to knock on it. Before my hand could make contact with the wood, however, it was swiftly opened and I jumped back in surprise.

Godric was standing there, staring intensely down at me – eagerly drinking me in like I was going to disappear on him or something. Weird.

"Amelia, come in." He held the door open for me and I smiled broadly – what a gentleman.

It was a struggle not to let my jaw drop at the size of the hotel room, or its opulence – man, rich people really knew how to travel in style. I looked around and immediately felt irritated – most of the people here were dressed casually and my small act of rebellion was now entirely useless. I huffed silently to myself and Sookie smiled with amusement at me, almost like she could hear my thoughts. I chastised myself for having that stupid thought again – clearly all this vampire shit was getting to me.

"Amelia Kent, is it?" A very glamorous lady asked, wearing the kind of professional attire I expected. Two men stood behind her like bodyguards and I guessed that she was important somehow.

"Yes. Nice to meet you." I held out my hand for her to shake but she just gave it a disdainful look and carried on talking.

"Am I to understand that it was you who disabled the bomb?"

"Yeah – it was a very crude device. If it had been made by a professional I wouldn't have been able to disarm it so easily."

"Yes, yes, whatever – do you mind going through the events of that evening in your owns words?" She asked me, looking incredibly bored.

I gave her a weird look, "who else's words would they be?"

She pulled out that disdainful look again – the one all vampires have perfected.

I sighed deeply and recounted the events of the previous day for the second time – leaving out the more embarrassing and personal parts. I also made sure to leave out anything to do with Godric's suicidal feelings when I spoke, instead making it sound like I hadn't the slightest idea why he was at the church.

Both Eric and Godric were seated around the coffee table, as well as Sookie and her boyfriend and a very beautiful woman named Isabel who I understood to be Godric's lieutenant or something similar.

As I spoke, I could feel two sets of eyes burning holes into my body – more specifically my exposed midriff, making me realise what a stupid mistake it was to wear a crop top to meet a vampire. Damn – I just couldn't do anything right – it was _meant_ to be a sign of my irritation that they had dragged me down here but instead it seemed to say "eat me!" in flashing lights, which definitely had not been my intention.

By the time I had finished my side of things, everyone was looking very bored – it seemed like they had all recounted their version of things and were getting very fed up with hearing the same story over and over again. I didn't blame them – I was pretty fucking bored as well.

"Can I go now?" I asked the woman, desperate to get back home to my comforter and cartoons.

"No. Sit down."

I sighed and collapsed onto a sofa, slouching as low as I could in the hopes of irritating the woman. My childish attempt went unnoticed by her, but Godric was looking at me with amusement from the corner of his eye.

"Miss Kent, how would you feel about doing a televised interview about what happened?"

I stared at her for a moment, "that's how I know you! You tried to get me to do one after the whole vampire fire incident!"

She raised a delicate brow, "that was you? You sounded a lot more put together over the phone."

My jaw dropped at her blatant disregard of manners and I could feel myself getting angry, and mildly spiteful, but only mildly. "Yes, that was me and I'm telling you now what I told you then – I'm not doing an interview so you can take your nine inch stilettos and shove them up your—"

A hand clamped down over my mouth and dragged me back, forcing me to shut up and back into my seat. I turned to Godric, indignant, but his hand was still over my mouth. His eyes twinkled with mirth, which appeased me.

The lady only looked slightly irritated, like she didn't have time for my shenanigans and I realised she probably didn't – I was just a fly to her, buzzing in her ear annoyingly. It was a sobering thought.

"You are free to go," she drawled, waving a hand at me dismissively and I jumped up, straightening my clothes haughtily and stalking out the room. I tried my best to ignore Eric's smug smirk, but couldn't stop myself from pulling a childish face at him on my way out. So sue me – I deserved to let out my frustration.

Just as I opened the door to leave, there was a slight breeze and it slammed shut. I jumped just as Godric lightly turned me around. He smiled softly at me and pushed an errant curl behind my ear.

"Would you mind waiting for me? Up on the roof – we will not be long."

I eyed him for a bit – torn between wanting to leave and not disappointing him. I stared into his eyes; they were like a cool stream, trickling gently and smoothly, asking me to stay. I couldn't say no.

He looked pleased and gave me that soft smile again, which made insides go all wriggly and warm. That was not a good sign and like any emotion I didn't want to deal with I shoved it away and pretended it didn't exist.

* * *

"Not long my ass." I muttered to myself, sitting on the edge of the roof, letting my feet dangle over the edge as I softly swayed them. It had been half an hour and there was still no sign of Godric.

The loud noises of the city below echoed up to me – drunken shouting, car doors slamming and loud pumping music from a club. I felt removed from it all – like I was sitting on a cloud and observing everyone from above – it was peaceful.

Which was why I almost went plummeting off the roof and to my death when Eric suddenly appeared next to me. I screamed and felt myself start to fall. My heart jumped straight into my throat and it felt as if my blood had frozen, dead, in my veins.

Just as my body completely left the ledge, I felt a strong hand grab me by the waist and drag me backwards away from the edge.

I sucked in a deep breath and took a moment to orient myself. Eric didn't even look mildly guilty as he set me back down on the ground, like he hadn't just been seconds away from committing manslaughter and sending me to an early grave.

I turned to thank him for catching me but flinched back at the look on his face.

"You knew." He snarled, seemingly furious with me and my small brush with death was forgotten in the face of his anger. If I had thought Godric looked scary when he was angry, it was nothing to how truly deadly Eric looked. His eyes were searing, burning with a fury that had been fuelled for centuries.

"What?" I asked, backing away from him rapidly, my eyes wide with fright.

"You knew Godric was suicidal and you did nothing!" he was yelling at me now, slowly stalking towards me, in no hurry to catch up, safe in the knowledge that he could kill me before I could even open the door to the roof.

I was terrified now and took a deep breath, fiercely trying to clamp my fear down – I would not be cowed by this jackass.

"Yes, I did know," I said softly, as though I were speaking to a wounded animal, instead of a rational being. "I did try to stop him but he was very adamant that he would die at the Fellowship of the Sun."

"You're lying." His voice sounded dead now, erased of all fury and his face was a stone mask. In less than a second he was effortlessly holding me up in the air by my throat, cutting off my air supply.

The pain was like nothing I had ever experienced before; it felt like he was crushing not only my throat but my ribcage and lungs as well. It burned.

And then I felt myself hit the concrete of the roof with a loud thud, cutting my elbow open as I coughed and gasped desperately for breath – water streaming from eyes and blurring my vision.

Alarmed and confused, I looked up, expecting Eric to swoop down at any moment to finish the job and instead found Godric standing over him, foot planted firmly on the blonde's chest as he spoke too quietly for me to hear.

Relieved, I lay back on the floor, still gasping and coughing. Whatever Godric was saying to Eric, it sounded very angry - I would not like to be Eric right now.

"Little one, are you all right?" Godric asked, appearing before me and gently helping me stand. He took my face in his hands and examined my throat, delicately brushing my hair from my cheek.

I nodded shakily, resisting the urge to fling myself into his arms and bury my face in the crook of his neck. He made me feel safe, like he was a roaring, strong fire enveloping me in warmth on a cold winter's day.

He stared at me with soft concern for a few more moments before scooping me up in his arms in a matter of milliseconds. I squeaked and felt his chest rumble with a chuckle and then there was a sudden rush of air. The world turned blurry, and not from my tears; it felt like I was flying.

I looked around me in shock. Less than a second ago we were on the roof and now we were standing in a dark hotel room. Godric switched on the lights and I blinked, adjusting to the change.

"What the hell?" I whispered, looking down at my body, half expecting to be missing some limbs.

There was a pause.

"That was awesome!" I squealed, jumping on Godric and shaking his shoulders, or, well trying to, I was too weak to actually move him so instead I just kind of gripped him.

He laughed, seemingly very pleased with himself but I was too hopped up on the adrenaline of moving at _super speed_ to notice.

"Do you move like that all the time? That was honestly one of the best moments of my life!" I gushed, still attempting to shake him. My voice had turned all breathy from exhilaration, my cheeks felt flushed and I knew my eyes were wide and excited. Adrenaline junkies like myself _lived_ for that kind of shit.

Godric's eyes turned heated and he moved into me, his face so close to mine that when I blinked my eyelashes ever so lightly brushed his cheeks.

"One of your best moments? I think we could find something that could top it…" he whispered into my ear, his lips brushing the shell of them. I shivered, my eyes fluttering closed.

He moved away from me and I had to bite my tongue to hold back my groan of frustration. When I opened my eyes again he was smirking slyly at me. I glared mutinously.

He motioned for me to sit down and I did, collapsing back onto the sofa in relief.

Why the fuck were people constantly trying to kill me? Why was Eric trying to kill me despite Godric's request? I was done with the world – at this point someone could swoop into the room and kill me and I would thank them.

Godric sat opposite me, watching and expertly reading the emotions that flickered across my face.

"He did not intend to kill you."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Really, he merely intended to scare you into revealing all you knew of my time at the Fellowship of the Sun."

"Tell that to my bruised throat." Every breath I took burned, every word I spoke was like a knife being dragged down my windpipe.

His eyes softened. "I know you're in a lot pain right now, I can feel it, but if he had truly intended to hurt you, you would not be in such good condition – this is positively gentle by Eric's standards."

"He needs to re-examine his definition of gentle," I muttered, "dude needs some anger management therapy or something." I frowned. "Wait, what? You can _feel_ my pain? What the fuck does that mean?"

He paused for a moment. "Vampires have a very good sense and idea of the emotions that humans in their surrounding area experience," he said smoothly, smiling reassuringly. Huh.

Horror coursed like snake venom through my blood, momentarily stopping my heart and making me tense up. If he could sense our emotions – did that mean he could feel it whenever I got turned on by him? Could he sense it when I get those mushy feelings for him? God, I was so embarrassed.

I sat there in a cloud of humiliation and buried my face in a soft cushion, deciding then and there I was never going to speak to Godric again, let alone look him in the eye.

I heard him laugh and his footsteps lightly approaching me. He attempted to pry my face away from the cushion but I was adamant that I would rather suffocate myself with that cushion than ever face him again.

After a few minutes of muffled grunts and intense struggling, he gave up. Realistically, I knew that if he really wanted to he could have forced me to look up very easily and I appreciated his restraint.

"Little one, I can feel your embarrassment – you assume I would think badly of you for your emotions but that is the opposite of what I think. You feel everything so intensely, so strongly – it is intoxicating. What you feel is beautiful." His voice soft, light, but there was an edge to it, an undertone to it that I couldn't understand and I didn't bother trying.

I froze at his words, slowly raising my head to look at him sceptically. "Really?" I asked doubtfully.

He looked me directly in the eye, holding my face firmly in place. "Really."

I didn't want it to matter, I didn't want to care what he thought but I still felt relief flood through me at his words – he didn't think I was some weirdo creep who awkwardly lusted after him. Thank God.

"Milia, you cannot possibly understand how glad I am for you and your emotions. You gave me hope. You are so brave, so full of life and fire and love, that I cannot help but feel optimistic, an emotion I have not felt for so long I did not know what it was at first. If humans like you and vampires like me can be… friends, then maybe the world is not doomed after all – maybe it is not as dark and corrupted as I thought. You're actions prove that humans and vampires can co-exist."

I stared at him in utter shock. "What – I – what are you saying?"

"That you have inspired me – I have decided that I do not want to leave this earth just yet, you have persuaded me to stay for a good while longer."

I did not know how to feel. "I- Godric, you are giving me too much credit and I am flattered and all but no one can convince you to stay but yourself. When you feel the way you do, or did, the only one who can save you is _you_. I did not do anything." I looked at him more intensely now, willing him to understand. "You – you are this immense, powerful force of nature and I'm just an irresponsible fire fighter from Bon Temps who cries at children's cartoons – I am nothing special."

His eyes flashed dangerously at my words. "You are wrong."

Godric had held my face unshakeably in place throughout our entire exchange and slowly, without my realising, our faces had moved closer together until they were almost touching and, _oh_ , how I noticed it now. Now, it was all I could feel. I had assumed he would let me go after our conversation ended but it seemed as though he couldn't bring himself to do it. We continued to stare at one another. My heart started beating wildly in my chest and it felt like he was reaching inside my ribcage to grab it. My stomach clenched almost painfully and I felt everything too fast and too strongly. This was not supposed to be happening.

He looked just as overcome as me; his eyes were literal storm clouds, great swirling masses of power and emotion. His lips had parted and my eyes dropped to them; they looked so kissable, soft and an eerily bright red against his pale skin.

Distantly, my inner voice was telling me that this was not a good idea, like, _holy fucking shit get it together, Milia, what are you doing_ but I was too far-gone to care.

I started to lean into him, as though I were in a trance, all I could think about was him – his eyes, his lips. It was as though someone else was controlling my body, pushing me towards him and I don't think I could have stopped myself even if I had wanted to. But that was the thing – I wanted to. I wanted to kiss him, to touch him, to feel him in every way – to practically mould myself to him – so much that it actually hurt. It was like a physical ache in my chest.

 _Bang_.

A door slammed somewhere down the hall and I snapped out of the stupor I had been in, like a bullet had gone off in the room. I was breathing heavily, as though I had run a marathon, and my face was so flushed I was sure there wasn't any blood left anywhere else in my body.

A brief, agonising expression that I could not determine burst across his face before he quickly shut off – letting his normal blank, if slightly serene, mask fall into place.

I took a deep, stuttering breath and darted out the room, sprinting away like I was running for my life. It had all been overwhelming, exhilarating. I had felt as though I was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking at the whirling and roiling ocean, riptides clawing under the surface, waiting to drag me into the depths, while rain, lightening and thunder whipped around me, threatening to push me over the side. Diving in would be the most dangerous, electric and foolish thing I could ever do.

I wanted to though. And that terrified me.

* * *

 **Dun dun duuuuun!**

 ** _Vacker_ \- Swedish - meaning beautiful, pretty, sweet, young.**

 **We finally got to see a small hint of a jealous and slightly possessive Godric but he was really restraining himself this chapter - he doesn't want to scare her off.**

 **We finally got to meet Leanna, the vampire Milia saved! I was honestly so excited to introduce her you guys, you have no idea! I can't wait to show you her backstory either - its awesome, if I do say so myself.**

 **And yes, Milia is bisexual! However, her relationship with Leanna will purely be a kickass friendship in this story - in this chapter Milia was just feeling vulnerable and lonely and Leanna is smoking hot - can you blame her?**

 **Poor Milia - I feel slightly bad that Godric is so smoothly lying to her about how he can feel her emotions but I want to play with her lack of vampire knowledge a bit more.**

 **I would also like to say that while Milia played a large part in Godric's decision not to commit suicide, it is all entirely his choice. If someone you love has depression do not expect them to magically get better because of your relationship - that's not how people or depression work. I have taken a few liberties here because I think depression, or suicidal feelings, for a 2000 year old vampire would work far more differently to our normal human reactions. To me, I do not think that Godric was completely committed to dying before the bomb scene in True Blood - he avoided telling anyone about his feelings or why he was at the Fellowship and found ways to lie or omit the truth. After the bomb scene, however, and when discussing it, he became perfectly candid about his suicidal intentions and appeared to have just given up. I have always thought that the bomb and its effects were the turning point for Godric and drove him over the edge - until that moment it always seemed to me like he was still holding on to hope. Which is why, in this story, Milia risking her life to save a house full of vampires by diffusing that bomb has had such an effect on Godric; it is the tipping point for him deciding to live.**

 **Thank you so much for reading!**

 **Next chapter: Milia and Eric have a Moment and Godric and his progeny take advantage of Milia's ignorance concerning vampires to have a _lot_ of fun at her expense. **


	9. Chapter 9

Hey guys!

I know, I know, I suck. I suck big time. It has been _ages_ since I have last updated and I am a terrible person for it! My life kind of fell apart majorly a couple of months ago and all my future plans mostly ended up in a big pile of nothing. I had to make some major life decisions and actually sort myself out. Luckily though, everything is mostly back on track and I am in a much better place and excited for the future! So yeah, real life got in the way but now that a lot of those issues have mostly been resolved I can make regular updates again! I am aiming to update once a week but I am terrible at keeping a regular schedule so, to be perfectly honest, expect sporadic updates in random bursts with no discernible pattern.

Anyway, to more important things! I want to say a huge **HUGE** thank you to everyone who has reviewed and followed this story! You're support has meant so much and has really been the driving force of this story - if it weren't for all of you I would have given up ages ago. If you have reviewed expect a PM from me in the near future as I don't want to reply to all your comments on here - it takes up a lot of space and I know it annoys a lot of readers.

Godric isn't in this chapter. I know I said he would be but I had so much planned for this one and it ended up only being one scene because it got completely away from me. However, I felt that what I wrote in this chapter was really important for both the plot, Milia's emotional development and for the development of her relationship with Eric. It's only one scene because if i had included everything I wanted to it would have gotten very disjointed and unconnected so i felt it was better to leave it on a more simple note.

Rated M: Violence, blood, excessive swearing.

As always, constructive criticism is always welcome.

Without further ado, here it is. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

I sprinted out of the room like a pack of ravenous wolves were on my trail, running with a smack into the wall outside, before painfully rebounding and continuing my escape.

The hallways blurred into a grey mass as I ran, the sound of my pounding heart drowning out the noisy thump of my footsteps. Just as I reached the end of the hallway, a door to my right snapped open. I startled and briefly paused but did not pay much attention to it – my thoughts were a chaotic mess revolving around Godric.

That was a mistake on my part. Just as I flew around the corner a pale, strong hand reached out and grabbed my arm, dragging me into the room. The strength of the person grabbing me combined with the momentum from my run sent me flying inside, my feet quite literally leaving the ground as I tumbled into a hard chest.

"Oof," my breath left my body in a loud huff and I took a second to orient myself. "What the _fuck_?" I scrambled backwards to see my assailant and blinked in shock. The air was sucked from lungs in shock for a second time as I stared up at Eric in muted fear. I let out a small yelp and quickly backpedalled, hitting the hotel room door before adjusting my course and attempting to speed away.

Eric stood before me, arms folded over his broad chest as he watched my panicked flailing in sadistic amusement, the asshole. Sighing deeply, he reached forward to tug me back into the room, effortlessly ignoring my struggling as he forced me into a chair before closing the door.

With my heart now beating wildly in my chest, I eyed all the exits in the room, my eyes darting from window to window. Jumping from the tenth story of the building sounded a lot safer than staying any longer in a room with a vampire who hated me. I gulped.

Eric casually strode forward and gracefully sat in the chair opposite mine, leaning forward. He stared at me with unreadable eyes.

Chuckling nervously, I started to edge out my seat. "I think you have wrong the person so I'm just going to—"

"No. I have the right person. I wanted to talk to you."

I choked on my own spit in shock, spluttering and coughing in my chair as I stared at him with wide, shocked eyes. My reaction seemed to amuse him and he grinned smugly at me.

"What? I can't have a friendly…" he chose his words carefully, "chat with my favourite human?"

Quickly recovering from my shock, I snorted, giving him a flat look. "Favourite human? Do you try to kill all your favourite people, or am I just special?"

He gave me a small smile, one of genuine amusement and I had to forcefully stop myself from choking in shock again. Was he manipulating me? Trying to make me trust him? But why?

I leaned as far away from him as I could, pushing up against the back of the plush armchair as I eyed him with unbridled suspicion.

"You are correct, human –"

"Milia – my name is Milia, asshat."

"- you are not my favourite human – that highly coveted position belongs to Sookie."

I raised a brow, "highly coveted? I think you're getting ahead of yourself there."

Eric ignored me. "However, you _are_ Godric's favourite human and, for his sake, I am trying to make amends. I think it would be beneficial for the both of us if we were to become friends."

I burst into loud, mocking laughter. "Friends? Dude, you just tried to kill me and you want to be my friend? Jesus, you're even more fucked up than I thought you were."

His eyes flashed dangerously and in less than a second he was across the room and at my throat. I gasped but did not flinch back – I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

He took note of my reaction and smirked, lightly tracing my throat with his fingers. "You're a brave little thing, I'll give you that."

"Fuck off." I glared mutinously at him.

He applied some pressure to my throat, not enough to hurt but enough to warn me that he still held all the power in our little stand off. "So brave but so stupid," he continued patronisingly before he went back to softly stroking my throat. "If I had wanted you dead, you would be. For some reason, Godric finds you fascinating and killing you would hurt him. No, I do not want you dead and our small skirmish on the roof was just that – a small _disagreement_. Do you truly think you would be breathing right now if I had made a genuine attempt on your life?"

I stared at him in curiosity, wondering just how much he cared for Godric to be willingly explaining himself to a human, a human he disliked at that.

I huffed slightly, refusing to acknowledge his logic or the fact that he was actually right, dammit. He was actually telling the truth.

My attention shifted back to him and I sat up straighter. "You don't want hurt him. Why? Because he is your father?"

He paused, stopping his ministrations on my throat to give me another condescending look. "You really don't know anything about vampires, do you?"

I gave him a look and he rolled his eyes.

"Godric is my maker, not my father. It is a relationship and a bond that a human could never hope to comprehend. A maker, if they are a good one, is your friend, brother, father, lover; your everything until they release you. Even then that bond still exists – you humans do not have an equivalent or a relationship like it. I could no sooner hurt Godric than I could hurt myself."

I sat there and stared, blinking owlishly. "Wait, so – you're not biologically related?"

"You moron – is that what you have been thinking this entire time?"

I coughed, shifting in my seat. "What? No! Don't be ridiculous!" I refused to meet his eye.

He laughed. It was a low, throaty sound that held actual joy and merriment. My eyes darted back to him again as he threw his head back, giving a full body laugh that made his eyes crinkle and revealed his white teeth. I felt my breath catch in my throat at the sound, at the sight; he was achingly beautiful.

I paused. What the hell am I thinking? This is _Eric_ – the psycho vampire who probably enjoyed drowning puppies – I couldn't be thinking about him like this! I thought of Godric and felt strangely guilty, sinking low into my seat in shame before steeling myself. No – I should not be feeling guilty. I don't owe Godric anything, nor does he have any kind of claim on me. I was being too hard on myself – of course I had a reaction like that. Eric is an immortal, powerful being that happened to be one of the most gorgeous men to walk this earth. I am just a twenty one year old mortal girl who has never left the United States before – I was having the same problem millions of humans all over the world were – being intrigued by a supernatural being. There is nothing shameful or stupid about it; in fact, it would be weird if Eric _didn't_ fascinate me.

I had been so caught up in my internal conflict that I hadn't noticed when Eric moved back to his seat, or that the first time I had seen him give a genuine laugh it was at my expense.

"So, what? You think you can just sit me down and talk about your feelings and we're going to become BFFs?" I gave him a dirty look.

He sighed deeply. "No. I know it is going to take more than that which is why I am going to do something I have never done before – apologise to a human."

Somehow, somewhere, pigs started flying.

"Amelia Kent, I am sorry for hurting you."

Has the world ended? Has Eric been possessed? "Are you being blackmailed?" I asked suspiciously, through narrowed eyes, looking around for hidden cameras, or something to explain Eric's very out of character behaviour.

He growled lowly in frustration. "No. As I said, I am trying to make amends for Godric's sake. Do you accept my apology or not?" He snapped, looking irritated and like a small child who's mother was forcing them to apologise for bad behaviour. He was embarrassed and very out of his element, looking visibly uncomfortable and it was enough to make me pause.

On the one hand, it would certainly improve my life span if I forgave Eric, not to mention making my interactions with Godric easier. However, I'm not that easy – it was going to take more than words for me to move past Eric's actions – he had physically attacked me and threatened my life on multiple occasions – that's not something words alone can fix.

"I don't. You can't strangle me, sit me down and give me some flowery apology and think that somehow magically erases everything you did. I am going to need something more concrete than words. Apologising doesn't make people miraculously forgive you, nor does it automatically make them trust you. I don't know how old you are, exactly, but even _I_ can tell you're practically ancient – you shouldn't need me to tell you this." I sighed deeply, massaging my aching throat and ignoring my battered body. I could feel a rage stirring in my belly, heating more and more like a furnace with every word Eric spoke. How dare he treat me the way he has. The anger that was fuelling me didn't come from feelings of humiliation or hurt – I wasn't annoyed that he had hurt me personally, per se, I was annoyed that he thought he could treat _anyone_ in such a despicable manner. No, the emotions feeding my fury were ones of injustice and indignation.

Every member of the Kent family had an ingrained sense of morality and a pathological, almost debilitating, need to stand up for what we deemed was right, no matter the cost to us. It meant we didn't pick our battles, just dove head first into them and started fights over seemingly small, trivial things. It was the result of being raised by a cop for a single mom – a woman who was a hurricane in her own right – she had instilled in us an unwavering moral compass from a very early age.

What should have been, and often was, our greatest asset quite frequently became our biggest weakness. Our incessant need to save people, to be the hero, was our biggest flaw. There comes a point when we care _too_ much, where our focus narrows down to one issue, and one issue alone, ultimately losing sight of the bigger picture – even disregarding what the victim themselves want. We become reckless, hotheaded, driven by only one purpose and we actually become dangerous, not only to ourselves but to others as well. There was a reason I became a fire fighter instead of a cop – this instinct, this need, for justice scared me deeply – what I could become capable of because of it was something I never wanted to find out.

I was born to be a fire fighter – I couldn't imagine my life being anything else, it actually hurt to think of a world where I wasn't one. I lived for this job and always had. Being a cop would have never appealed to me, even if I wasn't so scared of the Kent family curse. I had seen first hand what happens to a Kent family member when one of us gives in to this rage and it is not pretty – not pretty at all.

To my horror, and grim satisfaction, I felt the rage building within in me, the burning desire to show Eric just how wrong he was.

I could tell he knew there was something going on with me. From the way he leant further forward, eyebrow gracefully raised, scrutinising me with what was almost hunger. He knew I was on the verge of breaking and I could tell by his face that he was _excited_ to see what would happen. It only made me angrier. I knew from the amused tilt of his lips that he thought my break down would end in tears and small pleas for his mercy, or something else equally demeaning and ridiculous. Unfortunately for him, I'm a Kent, and when we break, we break in a violent, destructive warpath.

I couldn't stop thinking about every word Eric had said about me, every insult he casually directed at humans, every violent or disrespectful act I had seen him commit in the short time that I had known him. I snapped.

My face twisted into a vicious snarl as I jumped to my feet, eyes aflame with the burning desire to wreck havoc. The explosion of my feelings had been long overdue – everything that happened to me since being kidnapped pouring out in an outburst of fury. I had bottled everything up, pushing it aside for later. Later. Always later – I can sleep later, I can cry later, I can be scared later. Well, later had come and it wasn't going away anytime soon.

"You son a bitch! What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you do it? Why are so awful to everyone – what makes you think its ok to act so violently and cruelly? I don't understand why you have to _hurt_ people." Distantly, I realised I was yelling. I was like a small child, throwing a temper tantrum because the world isn't the way I want it to be.

Eric arched a blonde brow, amused and surprised.

I let out a primal, infuriated scream. "Stop with the fucking eyebrow! What are you? Some eighties villain with a bad dye job? You going to cackle evilly now? Fuck you! Fuck you, and your stupid eyebrows and your stupid attitude _and your fucking goddamn super strength!"_

He snorted. I saw red.

My eyes flew wildly around the room, landing on a cabinet filled with crystal glasses and decanters, arranged neatly by a glistening bottle of whisky. I flew over to it in a blind rage, barely registering the pain that flew up my foot when I stubbed my toe on an armoire. I reached inside and grabbed the biggest, heaviest looking glass and, before my mind could catch up with the rest of my body, I swiftly pivoted and sent the glass flying at Eric's head. Only, the moment the glass left my hand, Eric was no longer there. I watched as it sailed through the air in a high arc before crashing to the ground, shattering and sending shards of glass in all directions. A shard flew up and scratched my shin, leaving a delicate trail of blood behind.

The small shock of pain plunged me deeper into the depths of my fury. I had known before even touching the glass that it would never hit Eric. I had just wanted to smash things; I wanted to let out the vortex of searing and intense feelings that were crushing my ribcage. But the fact that the shard of glass intended for Eric had just hurt _me_ instead only made the vortex grow.

I had suffered for these vampires, I had been dragged into this shit-storm of violence and mind games and pain for the simple act of saving another being's life and not once had Eric thanked me, or acknowledged me without giving some sort of criticism, some sort of insult. I couldn't even _try_ to get a small scratch on him without somehow hurting myself in the process.

I growled and completely lost it. Everything then turned in a red blur of rage, and tears as I threw glass after glass at the Eric shaped form that zoomed around the hotel room. I never even came close to hitting him.

Through the haze of pain and anger, I grudgingly admitted to myself that maybe I was so furious because I was scared. This meltdown had been on the horizon ever since I woke up in that disgusting basement and, _of course_ , it had to happen in front of Eric, instead of anyone who actually cared about me. The last few days had left me feeling powerless and vulnerable in a way I had never experienced before and I was terrified it was going to happen again.

Eventually my screams turned into mumbles, turned into silence. I stared blankly at Eric, who was leaning casually against a wall, without really seeing him. I collapsed numbly to the floor, leaning against a wall and hugging my knees to my chest. I was tired, so tired. Now that I had released all my pent tension and rage, I was left feeling drained. I just wanted to go home and go to sleep.

I looked at the hotel room, dimly taking note of the destruction I had caused. The room looked like the aftermath of an earthquake with broken glass glittering under the expensive lighting and shredded furniture.

I startled back into awareness when Eric shifted, the first sign of movement from him in what felt like days. Slowly, and very carefully, he moved towards me, hands held out soothingly in front of him. He approached me as though I were a caged animal, allowing me to tell him no, if I wanted. It was oddly considerate of him and for that reason alone I let him gently sit next me.

He let out a deep, heartfelt sigh. "That was… quite the emotional display there, _Milia_."

I heard my neck crack as my head whipped around to stare at him. Eric was looking straight ahead, studiously avoiding eye contact with me.

"You said my name!" I exclaimed, somehow dragging myself away from the lethargic state my body was in. It was like hearing my name from his mouth had sent a rush of energy flooding through me.

I could see him roll his eyes. "I see you have a firm grasp of the obvious."

I didn't even bother to dignify him with a response and instead rolled my eyes. I think it was the first time he had said my name genuinely – without an ounce of sarcasm or contempt.

We sat there in silence, each lost in our thoughts and yet a strange feeling of camaraderie arose between us – an understanding.

"Seriously though, Eric, I can't hang around you or see you if I'm constantly fearing for my safety and you can apologise all you want but I know you don't actually mean it."

Surprise flickered through his eyes, lightening fast, before he turned to examine me. "You don't think I'm sorry?"

I gave a humourless laugh. "I don't think you have ever been sorry for anything in your life. People don't apologise to other people for the sake of others – you apologise because you mean it. Don't say shit you don't mean."

He appraised me, looking at me as though he were seeing me in a new light. "Well, you are right, I am not sorry that I attacked you but, if it is any consolation, I do regret that you got hurt." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I have an idea – a show of good faith, if you will."

"I'm listening."

"There is a tradition, an ancient one. It decrees that when a vampire offends or harms another, they must allow the aggrieved party to taste some of their blood. You are not a vampire but the same principle applies. It is a powerful and binding act but it will ensure that I will at least think twice before harming you, if I ever feel so inclined, which is far more leniency than any other human but Sookie has."

My nose scrunched up in disgust and I blanched. "Ew, dude, no fucking way. I'm not drinking your blood – that's just – ugh, so gross. I can't believe your amazing solution is some weird blood pact, I mean, do I _look_ like I want to join a cult?"

The look he levelled me with was decidedly unimpressed. "This is not a cult, nor is it a blood pact, it is a formal expression of my regret for how I treated you. Take it or leave it."

I sighed deeply and stared at the ceiling, hoping it would miraculously provide me with another solution, or maybe just a way to turn back time. "Fine."

"Excellent." He grinned widely, teeth showing and I felt ice slide down my spine. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Eric gracefully lifted a wrist to his mouth and before I could ask him what he was doing, he nicked it with a sharp twist of his head. Looking like a cat that got the cream, he offered it to me, dark red blood dripping in a steady stream down his hand.

My mouth dropped open in appalled disgust and I jerked away from him. "No way! I'm not slurping blood from your wrists, oh my god, can't you like, drip it into a cup or something?"

He let out a frustrated growl, "don't be stupid, Milia, this is a part of the ceremony. You agreed to this."

My eyes dropped down his bloody arm and I gulped. Mentally bracing myself, I shuffled forward; eyeing his wrist like it was a coiled snake.

Large cold hands slid around my waist as Eric pulled me into his arms, and I tried to suppress a shiver at the feeling of his hands on my bare skin. God, I was going to burn this crop top when I got home.

In a surprisingly gentle move, Eric softly guided my mouth to his blood. Now that I was mere inches from the small rivulets of crimson, I could smell the intoxicating scent of Eric's very essence. There was nothing I could compare the smell of his blood to, I had no reference for anything like it; the only word that could even come close to describing it was power. His blood smelled like power.

I glanced back up at him, unsure and a little afraid. I think he tried to nod encouragingly, but the effect was lost when he looked at me like I was a deer and he was a hunter. I couldn't even see the blue of his eyes anymore; his pupils were blown so wide. He stared at me with a single-minded focus that was so intense I had to look away. It had been like looking into the sun on a cloudless day, or trying to walk through an inferno. I leant forward, took a deep breath, and licked his wrist.

It was shockingly sensual. As soon as my tongue made contact with Eric's skin he made a deep noise that was somewhere between a growl and a moan. I barely noticed I was so focused on the heady taste of his blood. It was exhilarating and addictive and terrifying. It was life in liquid form and it tasted like everything and nothing all at once. It was like I was drinking an electric storm, a flavour that I instinctively knew was unique to Eric.

I didn't want it to end but all too soon Eric was reluctantly guiding my head away from him. I almost fought him, desperate to keep drinking this nectar, and then I snapped back with a visible shudder. Nectar? It was _blood_. I had been drinking blood.

I could feel it dripping down my chin and quickly wiped it off, now suddenly desperate to get rid of both the sensations it was giving me and the taste of it in my mouth. I stared at my bloodied hand in equal amounts fascination and horror.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

"Not quite the reaction I was hoping for." Eric's response was dry but I couldn't see his face. I refused to look at him, scared of what I might find.

"I can't believe I just fucking drank blood. That's so fucked up. What the hell is wrong with me?" I was muttering to myself, starting to have a minor meltdown and major freak out. Again. "Oh my god – I'm a cannibal!"

I heard a short huff of laughter from Eric and then his broad hands were gently tilting my face up to force me to meet his gaze. I resisted and ended up staring at his mouth.

"Look at me."

"No."

"Milia, you insufferable idiot, look at me."

"Well, that's rather rude," I mumbled but I reluctantly met his gaze anyway.

His eyes were crashing oceans, hungry for the world, wanting to consume my very being and drown me. "You moron, you are not a cannibal – I am a vampire and you are a human – we are different species."

Oh yeah. "But still – how does that really work? I mean, you used to be a human – how does that factor into this? And what about your DNA? Is vampire DNA all that different to human DNA? And the elemental components of your blood can't be that different to ours considering it also used to be human –"

"Shut up."

"- blood. Ok, shutting up now." Oh god, don't shut up, Milia, keep talking – avoid this confrontation as much as you can, avoid thinking about what you just did for as long as possible! But no matter what I told myself, I couldn't open my mouth again. Eric's eyes were daring me to challenge him but I felt strangely euphoric, like I could do anything, and that made me softer and more agreeable to Eric than I normally would have been.

"You cannot tell anyone about this – it is against vampire law to speak of the ceremony after it has been completed." Eric's grip on my chin tightened as he leaned in closer with hardened eyes.

"Another one? Seriously? How many ridiculous laws do you vampires have?"

"Milia."

I sighed. "Ok, fine. I won't tell anyone." He nodded. "Wait – what about Godric? I'm not lying to him."

He gave me a look. "And I am not asking you to. No doubt he already knows."

I gave him a deeply disturbed look. "How?"

"Vampire magic."

"Stop! Just give me an answer that isn't so fucking vague for once."

"Against the law."

I let out a muffled scream of frustration against his hand as it clamped around my mouth in a swift move to stop me.

Eric gently released me and I quickly scooted away from him, all the while grumbling about ridiculous vampires and their dramatics.

I leaned with my back against the wall and took a deep breath before slowly releasing it. What a night.

"That doesn't make us even, you know," I told Eric, trying to stare him down. "You haven't really done anything to make up for your past actions and I still don't trust you."

He gave me a flat look. "I know. To be honest, I do not care about your feelings. Everything I am doing, I am doing for Godric."

I waggled my eyebrows. "Come on, don't you like me even just a little bit? A tiny, _teeny_ smidge?"

He rolled his eyes. "I do not hate you, I guess."

I jolted in surprise – that was more than I had expected and I couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit smug. Reverting back to the mentality of a five year old, I stuck my tongue out at him victoriously. His eyes rolled again.

"So, what now?"

"Now? Now you sleep."

Eric's eyes were unexpectedly looming before me like hypnotising orbs and before I could even register what he had said, let alone understand it, everything went dark as I fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

And there it is!

I feel so bad for poor Milia being manipulated by vampires like this _again_. The truth about drinking vampire blood is going to come out soon and Milia is _not_ going to be happy about it. Also, she is going to be majorly disappointed when she discovers that "vampire magic" isn't really a thing.

So yeah, Milia had her long overdue meltdown, reached an impasse with Eric and got played yet again.

And I know loads of you are going to mention Godric and ask me where he was in all of this and all I'm going to say is that it will be revealed in due time.

I'm not sure if Eric feels too OOC in this but I tried to stay true to his character as much as possible. In the show, I felt like they portrayed him as deeply loyal to Godric and it seemed like he would do literally anything for him. He came this close to losing Godric and the only reason he didn't was because of Milia. So, to me, it makes sense that he is willing to, as he sees it, lower himself by apologising to her because it is all for Godric. He wants to do everything he can to make sure Godric sticks around. If you felt he was too OOC, please do let me know because I am never sure and would really appreciate feedback on this!

Next Chapter: We move back to Bon Temps, finally see Godric again, and get some fire fighting action!


	10. Chapter 10

Hey guys!

I got a lot more reviews than normal last chapter and I want to thank you all so much! You are all wonderful and I love you with all my heart! Haha, so many of you were rightfully really angry with Eric last time so I am making it up to you by including Godric and some pent up frustration in this chapter. I have managed to update much quicker than expected and I'm hoping that this streak of productivity will continue.

And to those of you who gave me feedback on Eric after I asked for some - thank you so much, you are stars!

Rated M: Action, swearing, alcohol and scenes of a (mildly) sexual nature.

As always, constructive criticism is welcome!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

I woke up slowly; snuggled up in a warm blanket on a bed that was so soft it was like I was lying in marshmallow fluff. I sighed contently and buried my face deeper in the pillows, not willing to wake up yet. It was strange; my bed was not normally this comfortable; it was far more lumpy and creaked like an old house. Now that I thought about it, I couldn't remember how I had even gotten into bed last night. I cast my mind back to the evening before, trying to think about the last thing I remembered doing…

I sat bolt upright in the bed, fear and panic making my heart pound like a drum. I looked wildly around the room and realised that I was still in the hotel, in Godric's suite, to be exact. I gulped. Taking deep, steadying breaths I tried to calm myself down and think.

Yesterday, I had made a terrible mistake. Drinking Eric's blood? What in the living hell had I been thinking? I groaned deeply and tried to lie back down when my arm brushed something hard and solid. My head whipped around with a crack to see a body lying next to me. Screaming loud enough to wake the dead, I toppled ungraciously off the bed, landing in a heap on the plush carpeted floor.

Hyperventilating and finding it increasingly difficult not to panic, I peered cautiously up over the side of the bed. There, lying as still as a statue, was Godric. He was lying on his back, hands folded peacefully over his stomach and a serene look on his face. He looked so… young and almost carefree, like he didn't have centuries of pain burdening him. He looked almost normal - your average college student. Almost. He was eerily still, his chest not moving; eyes not fluttering beneath his eyelids, unnaturally pale. He looked, well; he looked like a dead body. It terrified me.

I immediately freaked out. It was all too much. I didn't know whether it was vampires in general that I couldn't handle, or just Godric and Eric but either way I didn't want to find out. I was making one bad decision after another since meeting them and they were dangerous decisions too, not stupid things like sleeping with the sleazy looking guy at the bar. This was it. I was done – it didn't matter that I liked Godric or that I was strangely drawn to him. It didn't matter that he had saved my life or that he seemed so strong yet strangely fragile at the same time. I was out – I did not need this drama in my life. I sprinted out the hotel and didn't look back, thanking every deity I knew of that it was daytime and Godric hadn't been awake.

* * *

It was two days later and I stood outside the entrance of Firehouse 28. This was it. This would be the last time I would walk through these doors. I stared up at the red, fading letters above the entrance and tried not to get teary eyed.

I couldn't believe how far I had come. Two years ago, I had walked up to these same doors, nineteen years old, fresh out of the academy and desperate to prove myself. Now, I was living my dream, saving lives and risking death every day with my childhood friend at my side. I couldn't believe it was all ending because the state decided that too much money was being invested into firehouses. What a waste.

I didn't want to move back to Bon Temps – it was in the middle of nowhere and nothing ever happened. There had been a reason Jesse and I moved to a big city instead of staying at home. I sighed deeply, still reluctant to step inside for the last time.

There was a lot I was going to miss about Dallas and this building came to symbolise everything that I was leaving behind. My new friends, my life, the independence I had established for myself, Godric – no! No, Milia, just no – do not go there. I couldn't help it though, my mind flashed back to the steamy dream I had experienced last night. It had included both Godric _and_ Eric in a very large bed with me. I felt my face start to burn a deep crimson and had to start lightly fanning myself; I really didn't need to get so hot and bothered at work.

"Hey, Milia, wait up!"

I turned around and saw Jesse jogging up to me, lugging both our bags on one broad shoulder. We had decided to walk into the firehouse for the last time together, the same way we had first gone in.

"Man, I can't believe this is really happening. God, its just so unfair." Jesse looked mournfully up at the building, staring at it in the same contemplative way I had been. The bright morning sun beat down on us, illuminating Jesse's figure and bringing out the auburn and gold highlights in his effortlessly tousled hair. He turned to look at me and, upon catching sight of my still blushing complexion, frowned in concern. "Are you all right? I think you could be getting sick – you're really red." His furrowed brow smoothed out and he cracked lighthearted grin, "unless you're thinking of a dirty dream."

I blanched, caught off guard by his joke and how close to the truth it was. I tried to recover quickly but it was too late; Jesse had caught my reaction.

"Oh my god!" He exclaimed, smiling widely. "You _were_ thinking of a dirty dream!" His smile morphed into a sly smirk. "Who did it involve? Matt from the academy? Oohh, no, what about Helena from high school?"

"Stop," I whined, drawing out the syllable, face burning even brighter, if that was possible. I tried to hide my face in my hands while attempting to land soft blows on Jesse's shoulder.

He laughed loudly and bent down to peer up at me, pressing his face close to mine and making me go slightly cross-eyed.

"Or maybe you were dreaming about that barista you like?"

I let out another long embarrassed whine, spinning away from Jesse dramatically. "At least I don't have crushes on old women!"

Jesse shouted in indignation, stomping his foot like a toddler. "She wasn't an _old woman_! I told you – she was forty and she happened to think I was a great boyfriend."

I snorted. "A great _lay_ more like!"

Jesse howled in protest, diving forward and hooking his arm around my neck before dragging me down and holding me in place. "I am an _excellent_ boyfriend. Women fall all over themselves to get some action with me."

I tried beating furiously at his chest but it was futile. "I'll believe it when I see it," was my muffled reply.

"Kent! Taylor! Stop acting like children and get your asses in here." The loud, demanding voice of Chief Jones cut through the air, effectively ending our scuffle.

The first few hours of our shift passed mostly uneventfully. The ambulance had a mildly interesting call about a bar fight but our time was mostly spent saying heartfelt goodbyes and packing up the last of our stuff.

Most of our firehouse had lived in Dallas all their lives and had families to take care of. They were being sent to other firehouses in the local area, where there were job vacancies. They couldn't afford to, nor did they want to, relocate to another city, which meant that all the available fire-fighter vacancies left in Dallas went, rightfully, to them.

This left the remaining five of us with a choice. We could either stay in Dallas and find other jobs until a vacancy opened up or we could move to another firehouse in a different city. Sadly, all the other big cities were facing budget cuts similar to ours and had no available openings, leaving us with a limited number of understaffed firehouses in the hottest, most desolate towns. Getting a different job wasn't an option for us; fire fighting was in our blood.

By some strange twist of fate, Bon Temps had been the firehouse with the most vacancies and, due to poor funding, covered the largest area. The district we were delegated to was five times bigger than our district in Dallas, which meant we would see a fair amount of action but had the disadvantage of giving us slower response times and a lot of extra work. We all agreed, however, that having extra work was far better than having not enough – we hated sitting on our asses all day, doing nothing but twiddling our thumbs.

I didn't know when we had all decided that we were going to move to Bon Temps together, it seemed like we had all just naturally come to a unanimous decision. Chief Jones, Mckinnely, Sanchez, Jesse and I were the only ones without family tying us down to Dallas, and, seeing as the firehouse had become like a second family to most of us anyway, it made sense to move together.

I was yanked out of my thoughts by a loud beeping noise. A crackly voice blared through the firehouse's speakers. "Truck 28, Squad 6. House fire. 34 Ross Avenue."

Our last call as Firehouse 28.

We immediately went into action, striding confidently to the trucks and slipping our gear on with ease. Gone were the teary eyes and soft laughs from five minutes ago, instead replaced by stern looks of determination and anticipation. We had all gone into fire-fighting mode now and nothing short of death was going to pull us out of it until our job was done.

"Are you sure you can handle this, Kent? You've had a rough few days and no one would blame you if you decided to sit this one out," Sanchez, our lieutenant, asked, peering at me with sympathetic eyes. We were in the truck now, speeding through traffic to get to our location in good time.

"Yeah, I'm fine, or I will be with some time. This is what I need right now – I need to throw myself back into work; I need the routine. I can't just sit at home all day, left alone with my thoughts."

He grinned ruefully, "I thought you would say that. I was just checking."

I smiled back then turned to stare out of the window, watching as Dallas blurred past the windows.

Soon, the unmistakable scent of black smoke clogged the air. Our truck pulled up in an abrupt stop outside a quaint, two-storey house. A small crowd had gathered to watch from street, faces a mixture of fear and excitement. Already we could see that the fire had progressed a lot further than we ideally wanted, orange flames licking at the windows and consuming the small structure. We piled out of the truck, crowding around Chief and awaiting our orders.

"Ok, we're going to have to be quick. Sanchez, I want you and Truck to lead the search upstairs but be quick, we don't have time to check every nook and cranny. Chang, I want you to lead Squad downstairs and do a preliminary search there. This is an old house and likely has a basement, I want Squad to search it but only, and I mean _only_ , if you deem safe enough."

Chief nodded and we set to work, all of us feeling that familiar rush of adrenaline start pumping through our blood.

"Kent, Taylor, you're with me upstairs. Mckinnely, Brett and Mori, I want you to work the ladder and start tackling the flames to the left of the building. We don't want this fire to start spreading."

We all nodded and got into position. I followed behind Sanchez and Jesse, pulling my mask in place and waiting for Squad to kick the door in so we could rescue any potential victims.

Chang, the lieutenant that ran Squad, kicked the door open with one, firm foot. We were all immediately engulfed in a wave of intense heat and it was only through years of experience that we didn't stagger back from it.

"Remember, move quickly," Chang said, before striding confidently inside. The rest of Squad and the remainder of Truck followed after him, all of us moving swiftly and carefully.

Jesse and I followed Sanchez up the stairs, unable to see past the top due to the thick cloud of smoke. The heat was stifling, suffocating, but I barely noticed, too used to it now. At first, it had been really difficult to handle the heat; my first instinct had been to run from the intense feelings of claustrophobia it instilled. Eventually, however, I had managed to build up an immunity to it.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Sanchez directed Jesse and I into different rooms before striding down the hallway and entering what looked like the master bedroom.

Jesse and I nodded at each other before separating, Jesse walking into a bedroom close by while I went off down the hallway in the opposite direction Sanchez had gone in.

"Got an unconscious male and female in the master bedroom, I'm going to need a hand getting them out." Sanchez's voice crackled over the radio, sounding strained.

"Bathroom and second bedroom are clear, I'm on my way, Sanchez," Jesse's voice responded.

I reached the end of the hallway and pushed the creaking door open. It looked like a children's bedroom, the walls were light blue and there was a bunk bed in the corner. The smoke was a lot less thick in here and I could see far more clearly.

"Fire Department, call out!" I shouted but received no response. I opened the closet door and peered inside but didn't find anyone. Maybe the children had gotten out already.

"Pull out, now. The smoke's turning too dark, the house is going to blow soon." Chief's orders sounded through my radio and fell flat in the smoke logged room. I decided to check under the bed, the only other place in the room a person could hide, before following his orders.

Getting on my hands and knees, I peered into the darkness. The floor under the bed was littered with candy wrappers and toys, a small pile of blankets shoved in the corner – all typical of a children's room. Thinking that it was empty, I started to stand up again when a small flicker of movement under the blankets caught my eye. Dread flooded through my veins and I shuffled forward, lifting a soft, yellow blanket up to find a small child huddled under it. Shit.

Aware of the pressing time limit, I picked up my radio. "Hey guys, I got a kid here, I'm going to need a ladder rescue from the last window on the right of the building, top floor – we're not going to make it down the stairs in time."

"You got it, Kent," came Mckinnely's reply.

"Hey, sweetie," I turned back to the child, "we have to get out of here, do you think you could come out from under there?"

Big brown eyes peered fearfully up at me before the child whimpered and buried themselves deeper into the blankets, clearly terrified.

"Come on now, don't be scared, it's not safe here and we need to leave."

No response.

I was starting to panic now; the smoke was so thick I didn't know how the kid was still conscious. Shit, shit, shit. I could hear my radio crackling to life, Chief's urgent voice coming through, telling me that I needed to get out _now_. I ignored him.

Obviously whatever I was doing wasn't working; I needed a new plan. Catching sight of the Captain America shirt the child was wearing, an idea hit me.

"Hey, you like Captain America?" I asked gently, giving the child a big smile that I hoped was free from panic.

The child nodded.

"That's great! Me too. I know everything's really scary right now, but you have to remember what Captain America would do. Do you remember in the movie when Captain America is rescuing his friend Bucky?"

The child lifted their head and nodded and I could see them clearly for the first time. She was a little girl, no older than three with a small curly afro and wide eyes.

"Do you remember how they were really scared and how there was a lot of fire there too, but they kept going anyway and they refused to leave each other behind?"

She nodded again.

"Well, that's like us. I need you to be brave like Captain America and come out from under the bed so we can escape together."

The little girl hesitated before nodding again. She started crawling towards me slowly, careful not to hit her head. Her little arms were shaking badly, and she was wheezing from the smoke. My heart broke at the sight but I didn't let it distract me. As soon as she was within reach of my arms, I scooped her up and bundled her under my coat, trying to protect her from the smoke, and shielding her with my body.

The flames were in the bedroom now, slithering through the doorway and reaching for us. We only had seconds now.

"Mckinnely, is my ladder here?" I asked over the radio, racing to the window and quickly lifting the latch before opening it as wide as it could go.

He didn't bother responding as I had managed to open the window wide enough to fit through and I could see him clearly. The ladder wasn't quite as close as it needed to be for me step onto it but it was close enough for me to pass him the child. Mckinnely spared me a relieved grin before taking the little girl and swiftly moving back, carrying her down the ladder with him.

I could feel the flames were behind me now, threatening to engulf me and searing my back with their fierce heat. My hair stood up on end and I felt a chill pass down my spine, despite the burning atmosphere, and somehow, I instinctively knew that it was now or never for me. The house was exploding and this was it.

Normally, you are supposed to wait for the ladder to be cleared before you could climb down it but that obviously wasn't a reality for me at that moment. If I waited I would die.

I could see Sanchez's anxious face through the window as he climbed up the ladder in attempt to aid me. I could see the orange flames reflected in his eyes as the room exploded behind me and I launched myself from the window, desperately hoping I had enough momentum to reach the ladder instead of falling to my death.

For one terrifying moment I was suspended mid air. My heart stopped. I hadn't made it. I didn't jump far enough. Then I felt my body slam into the edge of the ladder, crushing my ribs and winding me. Reflexively I gripped onto whatever I could find as I slid backwards and it saved my life. Somehow, I had jumped with just enough force to grab onto the ladder.

For a few alarming moments I dangled precariously from the ladder, swinging wildly from the force of my jump and the explosion behind me, as well from my struggles to pull myself back up. Then Sanchez reached me and I felt his firm hands help drag me back up to safety.

We both lay there for a moment, too relieved to move before I let out a breathless, astonished laugh. He stared at me for a moment and then, to my surprise, his face lit up in a wide grin as he laughed with me, just as overcome as me.

I was alive. I had made it.

* * *

"Fuck." I swore quietly under my breath as I dropped yet another plate, watching it fall to the ground and shatter. That was the third one in ten minutes.

"Dammit, Lia, get it together," Jesse joked from the other room where he was trying (and failing) to assemble a coffee table. I rolled my eyes at his nickname for me, still finding it ridiculous even ten years later that he felt the need to give my nickname a nickname, as he had put it.

It had been three days since we had moved into our new house in Bon Temps and we were still nowhere close to finishing the unpacking.

The house was big, airy and old, having first been built in the eighteen hundreds, repaired and improved over time. It was wooden so it creaked and moaned like an old woman at night, but I found that just added to its character. Originally, it had been a five-bedroom house but the previous owners had modified it to have two large master bedrooms and a reasonably sized guest room, which suited our needs perfectly.

It was painted a soft, happy yellow and our garden was huge. The only reason Jesse and I had been able to afford it was because no one else would buy it. There had been a fire here fifty years ago and ever since the locals had steered clear of it, convinced it was haunted. The estate agents hadn't been able to find any out of town buyers and had sold us the house for half its original price in a last, desperate attempt to be rid of it.

I swept up the shattered plate before throwing its tragic remains in the trash, staring at all the boxes that had invaded our downstairs.

"Hey, Jess, do you want to go out tonight? We're not going to get this done all in one evening and we deserve a break. Let's celebrate our newfound status as homeowners! We could go to that club in Shreveport that we always tried to sneak into back in high school."

I heard a small thump from the living room before Jesse came speeding around the corner, sliding on the wooden floors in his socks and whooping loudly. "Now you're talking!"

It took us an hour to get ready. This was mostly because Jesse kept sabotaging me when I tried to do my eyeliner. Every time I got close to drawing the perfect wing, he would jolt me and the eyeliner would go everywhere. Of course, I had to enact revenge and eventually a white flag had to be raised and a truce called if we ever wanted to get to the club before midnight.

I had decided to wear glittery eye makeup, bright lipstick, a dark pair of jeans and a glittery top to match my eyes. Checking myself in the mirror one last time before we left, I had to admit that I looked pretty damn good. We called a cab and spent the time that it took to arrive having a small fashion show in the hallway, where we strutted up and down as though we were doing the catwalk. It was childish and silly and it was exactly what I needed to forget everything that had happened.

By the time the cab pulled up outside the front, Jesse and I were more than a little tipsy from tequila shots, staggering slightly and giggling madly at everything. It felt so good, so freeing, to just let go and enjoy myself.

It didn't take long to get to the club and the cab fare was much cheaper than it was in Dallas. Jesse helped me from the car like a true gentleman as I tittered in my heels. We gave the cab driver a cheery wave, got in line for the club and within a few minutes we were inside.

Back in high school, Enchanted was _the_ hottest club in our area. It was packed every night and the queues would stretch well beyond the club. Tonight, however, it was far emptier than it would have been three years ago. We made our way to the bar and ordered a few rounds of shots, downing far more than we should have before making our way to the dance floor.

The music was loud and pumping, with flashing lights on both the ceiling and the floor that whirled in a dazzling array of colors. We grinned widely at each other and immediately let loose on the dance floor, swinging our hips and waving our arms. One of the best things about going clubbing with Jesse was that other guys tended to stay away and I rarely got hit on. I was free to enjoy the music and dance the night away.

After a while I became aware of a pair of eyes staring intensely at me. At first, I couldn't figure out who it was or where they were but after glancing around the room a few times, I became aware of a pair of dark green eyes at the bar. The man sitting there was tall, with short, dark hair. He was wearing what was obviously an expensive suit stretched over a well-muscled body as he swirled a glass of scotch in one hand. He caught me staring and winked at me. I was well beyond the point of coherency and good judgement at this point and smiled flirtatiously back.

I had spent the last few days forcefully shoving away any thoughts I had of both Godric and Eric and pretending like I had never met them. For the most part I was doing a good job. At night, however, while I was sleep, they caught up to me. They haunted my dreams in sinfully delicious ways, leaving me to wake up in the mornings beyond frustrated. My drunken mind decided that the perfect remedy to this was to get thoroughly laid.

Turning back to Jesse, I gave him the signal that meant I wanted to go home with someone and he grinned slyly at me, waggling his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes and blew him a kiss before making my way over the bar, sliding into the chair next to my admirer. He smiled knowingly at me and I wasted no time in making my move.

I leant forward strategically in a way that enhanced my chest and collarbones. His eyes immediately dropped below my face and I tilted me head up to his, my lips brushing his ear.

'Want to get out of here?" I asked, pulling away and biting my lip. If I had been sober I would have been mortified at my cliché and horribly embarrassing moves but the man didn't seem to mind. He practically tripped over his own two feet in his haste to leave with me and I giggled lightly. He was less graceful now he was standing up and his eagerness reminded me of a small puppy but I didn't mind, I actually preferred it that way – it meant he reminded me less of two people I _really_ did not want to be thinking about.

I grabbed his hand and led him out the club. We were hit with a wall of silence once we made it out the doors, making my ears ring. I hadn't noticed how loud the music had been.

"My car is over that way," the man croaked, eyeing me hungrily. I smiled and tried to walk confidently in the direction he was pointing in but I stumbled drunkenly. He caught me and I leaned gratefully into him, allowing my hands to wander all over his body. He moaned slightly at my touch and rushed us over to his car, which was at the back of the lot, cloaked by shadows.

As soon as we were hidden from the purple neon lights of the club, and from sight, I pushed the man up against the car, my mouth eagerly finding his. The kiss was messy, and honestly, unpleasant, but I was too drunk to care. He kissed me back clumsily and he couldn't keep up with me. His hands started to roam my body, going up under my top to stroke my stomach before moving higher. I had been so on edge and so frustrated by my dreams that his touch had me groaning loudly into his mouth.

My mind was a drunken buzz as I started to pull his jacket off in an ineffective and blundering way, too drunk to have proper control over my limbs. He seemed to be in much better shape than me and easily shed his jacket.

"I – I can't wait to get home," he gasped, starting to undo the top button of my jeans. "Let's just do it in the car."

I nodded eagerly, and later, when I was sober and looking back on this, I would absolutely hate myself. In a car in the club parking lot? Really, Milia? At that moment, however, it seemed like a wonderful idea.

My body felt like it was burning and every muscle was wound tightly as I helped him undo my top button. I cheered loudly when we got it undone and he urgently shushed me. I laughed and kissed him again, slipping my hands up under his shirt. Just as he got the car unlocked and the passenger door open, however, disaster struck.

One moment I was eagerly nipping his ear and the next I felt the world blur around me and my stomach drop down to my feet. At first, I was confused and just assumed I was even drunker than I thought – the world often spun in circles like this when Jesse and I drank tequila but then I realised the sensation was familiar. Dread filled me as I realised exactly what was going on.

I came to abrupt stop and the world, which had been muted while I had been trapped in that whirling state, crashed back around me. Noise hit me full blast, the loud, deep bass of club music and the chatter of lots of people. Next I became aware of a set of hard, muscled arms encasing me. This all took less than a few seconds and I stumbled out of the embrace of my abductor in shock as I became used to all these sensations slamming into me at once.

I belatedly realised we were in a nice office, but there were no windows so I didn't know much more beyond that. The loud music and people I could hear outside suggested we were in a club but it was definitely not Enchanted.

"What the hell were you doing?" A voice hissed. I jumped and whirled around, kicking myself for having forgotten, however briefly, that I was not alone.

Godric stood before me, in simple blue jeans and a tight white top, looking more furious than I had ever seen him in my life.

"What?" I answered, blinking in confusion.

"I said," he snarled, stepping towards me, " _what the hell were you doing?_ "

I spent a few seconds standing there, staring at him as my mind slowly registered his question. "I was about to get laid," I huffed, pouting and crossing my arms. My words came out slurred and I swayed unsteadily on my feet.

My answer didn't seem to be the one he was looking for. He went scarily still and closed his eyes briefly, when he opened them again, they _burned_. He seemed to be holding himself back from something, like he was restraining a storm brewing inside and when he spoke his voice was tight and controlled, like he was having a lot of difficulty speaking normally.

"Are you drunk?"

I could see his fangs, barely visible but there, poking down into his lower lips and it was oddly sensual.

"No!" I scoffed but was given away when my body betrayed me. The aggressive way I answered his question jolted my body and sent me stumbling to the floor on my ass.

I was too drunk to feel the pain, although I distantly noted my butt was going to be a bruised mess tomorrow, and instead burst into loud laughter, happily lying back on the floor.

Godric closed his eyes again and continued to look murderous. "We will deal with this when you are sober. Get up; you are coming with me to the bar to drink some water. The Internet tells me that this aids the process of sobering up."

I giggled loudly again and tried to get up but instead ended up just uselessly rolling around on the floor. Godric growled and lifted me up smoothly in one fluid motion.

"Woah," I yelled, swaying dizzily. "Too fast! Way too fast!"

Godric allowed me a moment to recover before me started marching me to the door, a firm grip on my arm. It didn't do him much good, my heels were far too high for my current alcohol levels and I ended up just tripping over my feet. I snorted loudly and Godric growled in frustration again.

Before I could react, he had swooped me up into his arms in a bridal position. I cheered and happily wrapped my arms around his neck; both for stability and so I could press myself closer to him.

He stiffened and it seemed like he was having an inner war with himself so I just sat there and patiently waited for him to come to some kind of decision. Eventually, he relaxed slightly and started moving, carrying me to the door. I sighed contentedly and leaned up into his face, loosening one arm so I could trace his cheekbones and his eyes.

"You have such pretty eyes," I murmured and he froze. I took the opportunity to lean into his face, licking my lips and staring with an intense focus on his. "And pretty lips. They look so kissable."

His fangs popped out again and he groaned deeply.

"You are killing me, little one. It is so hard to keep my control around you."

I smiled widely at him. "So don't."

His chest rumbled deeply as he tightened his arms around me. "You are in no state to be making decisions right now." It sounded like he was gritting his teeth.

"Don't worry – I probably won't remember anything tomorrow anyway, so you can say whatever you like."

"That is not the urge I am trying so hard to control right now."

"Oh," I sighed, still too inebriated to really keep up with the conversation or what was happening around me.

Somehow, without me noticing, we had reached a bar. This was definitely not Enchanted. Enchanted had been a kaleidoscope of bright colors; pinks, greens, blues and purples. This club was dark and what I imagined a BDSM sex club to look like. It had a color scheme of black and more black, with a little hint of red thrown in for variety. It was packed, people barely had room to breathe, let alone dance and I couldn't see past the crowd more than three feet ahead of me.

Godric quickly set me down at the bar, on a plush stall. "Drink some water." He ordered.

Unfortunately for him, my issues with being ordered around extended to people I liked as well. My temper flared. "No."

The glass he had been holding shattered in his grip and I flinched back in surprise.

"I cannot control myself around you at this moment. I will get Pam to look after you." And with that he sped away. I sighed mournfully and pouted – I didn't want him to go.

I peered around me curiously. There was a small crowd of onlookers. Some eyed me like I was piece of meat and others eyed me with intense dislike, jealous rage simmering in their eyes, although I didn't really know what they had to be jealous about.

It didn't take long for Godric to find this "Pam." When I turned back to the bar a blonde woman was standing behind it, right in front of me. She was leaning right into my personal space with a vicious smile.

She was blonde and drop dead gorgeous, not a hair out of place and bold, pink lipstick painted on her full lips. "So you're the human all the fuss is about."

I didn't bother asking her what she meant and instead grinned sunnily. "Nice lipstick." It was the exact same shade as mine.

"I could say the same to you," she smirked, coming in closer in what I assume was an attempt to intimidate me.

I gave her a sly smirk of my own. "You into girls?"

I saw surprise flicker across her face before it was replaced by a positively wicked smile. " _Oh_ , I like you."

"Good." I closed the short distance between us and pressed my lips against hers when I felt a sharp wind behind me and I was tugged forcefully back.

Godric had returned and looked just as lethal, if not more so, than before.

"Pam, you have one second to leave before I _make_ you."

* * *

Uh, oh, Milia has gotten Pam into some serious trouble.

So there you have it - the Godric reunion. It didn't quite go the way he wanted it to, oh dear. And Milia seems to be making a right mess of things and is not doing any favours for herself.

I had so much fun writing this chapter, especially the fire scene and Jesse and Milias' relationship. I would also like to make it very clear now that all my knowledge of fire-fighting and fire departments comes from Chicago Fire (which is an _amazing_ show and you should all go watch it right now) which is just a roundabout way of me saying that actually I know nothing about firefighting and fire departments so please don't take anything written here as accurate, because it's not.

Thank you so much for reading!

Next chapter: Milia gets into the argument of her life, Eric and Godric have a lot of fun toying with her, and we see the return of Leanna.


	11. Chapter 11

Hey everyone!

You guys are all amazing and I cannot express how much I love you! Thank you so much for all your reviews and follows, every single one of them mean so much to me!

This chapter is a bit longer than the last one, although, I don't think you will like what happens - #sorrynotsorry.

Rated T: Swearing, alcohol, references to stalker like behaviour.

As always, constructive criticism is welcome!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

Pam was giving Godric a deeply unimpressed look.

" _She_ kissed _me_. That's not my fault," she drawled, looking bored and projecting an air of unconcerned apathy. However, she still moved away from me very hastily and made a swift exit, disappearing into the crowded club.

I pouted childishly at Godric, whining at him. "You scared off my new friend."

He just stood there, looking infuriated beyond words and like he was trying to get a hold of himself. I shrugged, and in an incredibly stupid move, grabbed a glass of vodka from a passing customer and downed it in a few short seconds. There was no way I was dealing with these vampires without another a drink – maybe if I drank enough I would pass out and could avoid this confrontation all together.

An expression I couldn't identify flashed over Godric's face and before I could even put the glass back down, I was abruptly transported back to the office. The world was spinning so badly before Godric moved me at super speed that I didn't even notice.

Godric gently placed me on the couch and dragged a chair over, sitting in front of me in an eerily similar manner to the way Eric had done a few days ago.

"Why did you kiss her?"

I grinned widely. "Because she is pretty," I declared, sounding immensely proud of myself. I paused. "I can kiss you too, if you want." I leaned into him, bringing my face close to his. It wasn't as romantic as I wanted it to be. I was having a hard time focusing and the world was blurring around me in a confusing swirl of bright lights. I couldn't hold myself still and I swayed unsteadily in front of Godric, even when sitting down. "Actually, no. I take it back. I don't want to kiss you." I collapsed back on the sofa, leaning my head gratefully on a cushion.

Godric looked both outraged and offended and it made me giggle loudly. "Why," he asked, voice tight and strained, "do you not want to kiss me?"

My giggles suddenly died in my throat as I became serious, almost melancholy. "Because you're the one I want to kiss the most."

I tried to watch for his reaction but I was a mess and could barely hold my head up, let alone see what Godric was doing.

His voice floated through the air but I couldn't identify the emotions in it. "You cannot kiss me even though I am the one you desire the most, why?"

I groaned, burying my face in a cushion. "Don' wanna talk bout it," I slurred.

" _Tell me_ , Milia," I could hear a tone of urgency in his voice.

"Cause I like you too much. Don' wanna like you though. You vamp – vampires," it was a struggle to get my words out coherently, "cause so much _drama_ and I never know what y'all are thinkin' or what y'all want with me. I'm in way over my head. Everythin's a game of chess to you and I don' like feeling like a pawn. You an' Eric an' all the other vampires play mind games with me and mess with my head an' I don' like it." I trailed off uncertainly, distracted by the ruffles on the cushion. I sat up, bringing it with me and stroked it in a delighted manner. "This is pretty. Can I keep it?"

"What? Oh, yes, do what you please with it." Godric paused and I distantly thought he sounded much calmer now; his voice was far gentler. "This does not explain why you were kissing that," his voice turned momentarily venomous, " _male_ in the parking lot, nor why you tried to kiss Pam."

"I don' have to explain myself to you!" I yelled, trying to stand up. "You got no say in what I do or who I do it with, Godric, so back the fuck up and don' go stickin' your nose where it ain't wanted!"

I stumbled to my feet and Godric moved quickly, gently guiding me back to my seat.

"I know, Milia, you do not have to tell me that but I would like to understand, if you will allow it?" His voice was soft and he was rubbing soothing circles on my back.

I moved straight past the angry phase of being drunk and went straight into the hysterical crying stage. It was _not_ pretty. I immediately burst into tears and wrapped my arms around Godric, clinging to him like an octopus. "Sorry for making you sad," I cried.

I felt him stiffen but then he relaxed and seemed to melt into the hug, gathering me in his arms so he could rest his chin on top of my head. "Hush now, Milia, do not cry, it hurts me to see such an emotion on you."

But it was too late and I was huffing out big, unattractive, crocodile tears. "I don' even get why you like me – you're so amazin' and strong and great and I accidentally smash'd three plates today," I wailed.

I felt Godric's chest rumble as he chuckled and it made me cry more. He started murmuring things to me but it was in another language so I couldn't understand it. The soothing tone of his voice calmed me down anyway, and I snuggled deeper in his arms, sighing contently. After a while, my tears dried and his voice started to lull me to sleep.

Just as I was on the verge of a deep sleep, the office door banged open, startling me awake. Eric strode in, looking as beautiful as ever in a leather jacket identical to the one I had destroyed.

"I have taken care of the human male," he told Godric, looking proud and smug.

I jumped out of Godric's arms in alarm. "What do'y mean taken care of?" I demanded, looking up at Eric with wide eyes as I lowered my voice to a fearful whisper, "did you kill him?"

He gave me a cruel smirk but shook his head. "No, I glamoured him."

"What?" I questioned, as Godric reached for me, trying to pull me back into the cocoon of his arms. "Glamoured? You like… gave him a makeover?"

Pam, who had just glided into the room, snorted, giving a mocking laugh. "Oh sweetie, you're dumber than a bag of rocks."

"Yeah well you – you're…" I floundered, struggling to come up with an insult, "you're stupid."

"That was pathetic," was her only reply.

I pouted and tried to cross my arms but the small movement sent me careening around the room again as I struggled to regain my balance.

"Wow, I'm so drunk!"

"Yes," Eric bit out distastefully, "and it feels very unpleasant for all of us."

Huh? "What'd ya mean it feels unpleasant for you? You can't get drunk – you're a vampire."

Eric looked, strangely, momentarily caught off guard before he seemed to quickly recover. "I just meant that it feels very unpleasant to have to be near the drunken stench coming off you."

My jaw dropped open indignation, "There's no stench comin' off me!" I discreetly tried to sniff myself, just in case. "Yeah! I don' smell!"

Glaring mutinously, I tottered over to the desk where I could see an expensive looking bottle of cologne sitting there innocently. I grabbed it and started liberally spraying everything I could see and then coughing as I inhaled a cloud of it.

"There," I gasped out, finding it hard to breathe, "now no one smells."

Eric snarled at me, snatching the cologne from my grasp. "That was Armani."

"Ooohhh, nooo," I drawled mockingly, dancing out of his reach, "what's the big bad vampire gonna do?"

Pam started laughing loudly and Eric and took a menacing step forward when Godric's voice held him in place.

"Do not touch her, Eric." His voiced was laced with amusement.

"You are acting very childishly," Eric informed me, sounding murderous.

" _You are acting very childishly_ ," I mimicked in a high-pitched voice, placing my hands on my hips.

Eric growled. Pam was cackling delightedly while Godric tried to hide his amusement behind his hand. Eric shoved Pam out of the room, slamming the door shut with a bang.

I grinned at him and skipped, well, tried to skip, over to a shelf, picking up books and rifling through them. It took me a while to realise they weren't written in English.

"Hey, what language are these?" I asked, waving a book at the two vampires who had been watching me carefully, Godric with an enchanted look in his eye and Eric with territorial irritation.

"Swedish," he told me through gritted teeth, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Oh, cool," I chirped, delicately placing the book back on the shelf. "Hey! You spoke Swedish to me that one time, Godric, you called me a fucker—"

"No I did not."

" – or something. Are you both Swedish?"

Eric stared with an expression that was lost on me. "I am, in a way."

"I am not," Godric informed me.

I sighed deeply, "ugh, see what I mean – you vampires are always so vague. So annoying."

"No, what is annoying is having to deal with the messes you create by trying to hook up with greasy blood bags," Eric spat out, his irritation seeming to rise the longer he was with me.

"That wasn' _my_ fault," I slurred, tilting dangerously and using the desk to steady myself as I inspected the office, "that was all your fault! I would never have had to sleep with him if it wasn' for you two and those stupid dreams and everythin' is stupid!" I stomped my foot childishly. "I was tryin' to forget about _your_ dumb faces!"

The two vampires sat there and stared at me in silence, both with unreadable looks on their faces. I huffed and rolled my eyes, going back to my examination of the room. I tried to open the desk drawers but they were locked so I started rifling through the papers on it instead.

"What dreams?" Godric asked; sly smile fixed on his face.

"Huh? What'd ya mean what dreams?" the alcohol in my system was making me sluggish and forgetful and very easily distracted – I had already forgotten about our conversation from a few minutes ago.

"Have you been having naughty dreams about us, Milia?" Eric asked mischievously, looking viciously vindictive.

I immediately went an unattractive shade of red. "What? Naughty dreams? Me? Pfft, no! I have never had naughty dreams ever in my life ever and for you to even think that is jus' - just ridiculous! This is an outrage! I can't believe – this is so – _who_ do you think – you know what? I don't have to listen to this." I stumbled over to the door and managed to open it a crack before there was a rush of wind and it was slammed shut.

Godric stood there, holding it closed. "You are too inebriated to go wandering off on your own, or have you forgotten so quickly what occurred the last time you did that?"

"No?"

Eric strode forward, rolling his eyes. "Sit down."

"Don't tell me what to do," I bit back, trying to wrench my arm from his grasp.

Eric seemed to snap. "Listen, human, I am not going to tolerate your attitude or your irritating habit of forcing your way into other people's business any longer. The sensations of your inebriated state are making me feel very wrong, almost sick, and I will put up with it no more. Sit down and sober up."

He started to force me onto the sofa but, at Godric's warning look, delicately placed me instead. I stared up at him blankly for a moment.

" _Listen_ ," I began in that irritatingly high-pitched voice again, " _human, I'm not going to tolerate your attitude any longer blah blah blah. I'm Eric and I'm a killjoy and I hate fun and puppies and everything good about life and –"_

Eric slapped a hand over my mouth, cutting me off, and forced me to lie back down on the sofa. "Just shut up and go to sleep."

With that, he turned around and, in a blur, disappeared from the office. I struggled to sit back up after he was gone but Godric gently pushed me back down, sitting beside me.

"No, you need to sleep – according to the online articles that I read many believe this to be the best cure for too much alcohol. I believe the phrase is: to sleep it off."

I pouted at him. "I can't sleep here. There is no pillow or comforter."

He smiled softly at me. "Do not worry, Milia, I have prepared for this."

He sped away and was back again within seconds, this time holding a large pile of blankets, sheets and pillows.

"I bought these for you at the store named 'Bed, Bath and Beyond'. It was quite the experience – I have never been to a modern human shop before. The lady working there assured me that these were the best they had to offer."

I stared at him incredulously and felt oddly touched. He glanced down at all the bedding he held, suddenly appearing self conscious and unsure. I burst into small giggles.

"Thank you, Godric, that was very considerate of you," I managed to get out between my laughter, gratefully accepting all the blankets and deciding not to tell him that there were way too many and I was likely to overheat.

I made a small mountain of pillows and settled back into them while wrapping myself up in a blanket burrito, smiling happily at Godric. He smiled back at me and I ignored the way it made me feel like electricity was crackling through my body.

"Have you really never been shopping before?" I asked curiously, drowsily blearing up at him from my soft nest.

"I have, but it was over a century ago. The world has changed much since then. My second in command, Isabel, does all my shopping for me. Although, I bought my current attire myself after buying these sleeping supplies for you. I wanted to look more modern but I am unsure that I am doing it correctly."

It was mystifying, the way Godric could ooze confidence and control one moment, and then appear a little lost and uncertain the next.

I snorted, "Godric, you do _not_ have to worry about your clothes. You could wear a trash bag and still look like a supermodel and the way you are wearing those clothes right now? You look damn _good_."

The smirk he sent my way was downright sinful and I felt a shiver run up my spine.

His eyes darkened. "Ah, ah, not now, little one, we have plenty of time for that later."

I was too tried to care how he knew what I was feeling, the alcohol making me excessively sleepy.

I drifted off; feeling Godric's cool and soothing hands stroke my hair in a relaxing rhythm. Just as I was about to succumb to blissful unconsciousness, I managed to drag myself away for a few precious seconds more. "What do you even want from me?"

Godric took a while to respond. "I want you to be mine."

But I was already asleep.

* * *

I woke up with a raging hangover. My mouth felt like it was full of cotton and my throat burned with thirst. It was like someone was pounding a drum in my head, threatening to crack open my skull and my poor stomach rolled with nausea.

I groaned loudly, staggering to my feet and raising a hand to my temple. "What the hell?"

I looked around me in confusion, noting the small office I was in. It felt familiar although I had never been here before – I must have spent a lot of time in here last night. Last night… I was missing a large chunk in my memory from the night before. The last thing I could recall was leaving the club with that man, then I think we made out? After that it was a black vacuum.

I groaned and let my head drop into my hands, filled with regret. Not again, why does this always happen to me? I was never drinking tequila ever again.

I neatly folded the blankets up, grateful that someone had thoughtfully given me some, although I had no idea who or why. Digging around in my pockets, I found my credit card and my phone and I almost wept in relief – I had a way back home!

I shuffled out of the office and was shocked to find that I was in some sort of club, a very kinky one, if the interior design was anything to go on. So I had left the club to sleep with someone and… had ended up in another club? I felt my blood run cold in horror – what if this was a brothel or some sort of sex club?

I glanced around the room in a panic, trying to find some sort of clue that would ease my mind and show me that I hadn't wandered off into a nightmare. There wasn't anything all that strange about the club, except for its gothic aesthetic and the regal looking throne that was sat on a raised dais. Wait. If there wasn't anything that weird about this place it had to just be a normal club? Right?

Right. I didn't do anything illegal. I made my way to what looked like the entrance and unlocked the door, slipping outside. The bright, midday sun met me there, blinding me. I winced and raised a hand to cover my eyes, trying to ignore the sharp stabs of pain it sent to my head.

Grabbing my phone, I dialled the number for the local taxi service, almost crying in relief when they picked up on the first ring.

"Hi, I would like book a cab?" I spoke into the phone, trying to use my free hand to comb my hair into looking acceptable.

"When?" The woman on the other end of the phone asked, sounding bored and put upon.

"As soon as possible," I told her.

"From where?"

Oh, shit. I had no idea where I was. I searched frantically for a street sign, or a restaurant or any kind of landmark but the only building in sight was the club. I read its name.

"Uh, Fangta – Fangtasia Club?" The hell kind of name was that? Had someone gotten the Disney film 'Fantasia' confused? I didn't think I had pronounced it correctly but the woman on the phone gave a long-suffering sigh like she recognised it.

"Someone will be with you in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks," I tried but she had already hung up.

I spent the next fifteens minutes lying in the sun on the sidewalk, trying to recall some of my lost memory but all I could seem to picture was a blonde woman I didn't recognize. I gave a short scream of frustration; thankful I was the only person around.

By the time the taxi pulled up I was more than ready to get out of there and desperate for some kind of air conditioning. I smiled brightly and slipped into the front seat, sighing in relief at the blast of cold air from the vents.

"Damn, it's hot out there today." I gave the driver another smile but he just gave me a dirty look.

Taken aback, I shifted away from him in my seat, feeling unsure. "Um, sorry, sir, but have I offended you in some way?"

The man looked to be in his fifties, with greying hair and a beer belly. "Yeah, you have. Don't know any good Christian that hangs about that place," he spat.

I froze in horror. Oh God, so it _was_ some kind of sex club. I wanted to cry. How did I end up there?

"Oh God, you have to believe me – I had no idea it was some kind of sex club! The last thing I can remember is leaving Enchanted – I have no idea how I got there. You have to believe that I'm not some kind sex-crazed pervert," I wailed, tears welling up in my eyes and a desperate tone to my voice. Maybe I was still a little drunk.

The driver shot me a suspicious look. "You mean, you don't know what that place is?"

"No, I swear! I just woke up in there – I didn't even know it was a club until twenty minutes ago!"

The driver let out muffled curse, suddenly sounding enraged. "Those damn vampires! Always taking advantage of good Christian girls like you. I'm so sorry, ma'am, that you had to experience that." He sounded genuinely sorry for me, as well as furious on my behalf and I was mystified.

"Um, sorry, I don't really know what you're talking about – I can't really remember anything from last night."

His face contorted into an ugly snarl. "And they wiped your memory too, dammit!"

"Sorry, what?"

"The vampires, at Fangtasia."

At my blank look, he sighed. "Fangtasia, it's a vampire bar. Opened up two years ago. Run by this real nasty piece of work vampire - they say he's a thousand years old and, if you're ever unfortunate enough to meet him, he'll either fuck you or kill you, pardon my French, miss. For two years now, he's been tempting good Christian people and turning them to the side of devil. A real tragedy, if you ask me. Look's like he got to you too, although you seem to have faired better than most folks – you ain't got no bite marks and you don't look like some Satan worshipping whore."

I flinched slightly at his words, relieved that I chose a more conservative outfit last night instead of my normally very revealing clubbing clothes. Eventually we pulled up at my house and I paid him with my credit card, giving him a goodbye that was significantly far less friendly than my greeting.

Honestly, I mostly felt relief that Fangtasia was a vampire bar – I hadn't been anywhere illegal and I felt that my dignity was mostly still intact. I would never willingly go to either a sex club or a vampire bar so I was feeling pretty damn annoyed at that guy from last night for taking me to one _and then leaving me there_. What a dick. If I ever see him again he is going to be in for one hell of a smack down.

Just as I made it to the front porch, the door swung open with a crash and Jesse rushed outside, looking on the verge of tears.

"Millie," he cried, gathering me up in a bear hug, "I am so, so sorry I let you go off like that! God, I was so scared when I woke up this morning and you weren't here – I thought you might have been kidnapped again. I'm such a shitty excuse for a friend!"

"Whoa, Jess, calm down, I'm ok – you're not a bad friend - I wanted to go." I gently pried his arms off me and let him guide me inside, where I immediately took some aspirin and had a glass of water.

"No, Mill, I can't forgive myself for this – I just let you walk away knowing full well you were too drunk to make decisions. I let you go off with some stranger, for God's sake! Don't take it easy on me for this; I don't deserve it." Jesse was really worked up, running his hands through his hair and tugging on it, pacing back and forth across the kitchen.

"Jess! Hey, chill. I'm ok – don't forget that you were drunk and not making good decisions either. Besides, nothing happened so there is no need to go beating yourself up. Let's not forget that I should have been far more responsible as well – I was being really dumb too." I placed my hands on his shoulders, forcing him to stay still and look at me. "I'm fine, unharmed, living la vida loca so take a deep breath and calm down." He did. "Good, now we've gotten over that, you won't _believe_ where I woke up today."

I then proceeded to tell him my sorry tale, making big puppy eyes at him to gain extra sympathy.

" _Milia_ , that's so fucking dangerous! I can't believe you ended up there!" Jesse completely flipped. "That dick – what kind of person abandons someone at a vampire club? If I ever see his sleazy, little gremlin face again, he is going to _pay."_ Jesse started muttering darkly and I had to spend the next half hour calming him down again, rolling my eyes at his over protective antics.

After soothing Jesse's mother hen instincts, I took an eagerly anticipated and desperately needed shower, the hot water easing my headache. I dressed in my softest pyjamas and made my way to the kitchen, starving for something unhealthy and greasy.

"Hey, Jesse, you want a fry up?" I called out, pulling ingredients from the cupboards.

Faster than I could blink, Jesse appeared before me, stumbling over the doorway and hitting a cupboard before bouncing back. "Yes!"

I laughed and tossed him a pan, not needing words to tell him what to do – we had lived together for so long that we were in perfect synchronisation, moving around the kitchen in harmony.

"So, you never did tell me what happened to you last night," I hinted at Jesse, digging for juicy details as I fried the eggs.

Like a light had been switched on inside, Jesse perked up, his face morphing into what I had dubbed his 'smitten- gushing' face.

"I met this girl, Milia," he took a moment, sighing dreamily, "God, she's perfect. After you left, I carried on dancing but I drank so much tequila that my balance was, well, to put it lightly, kind of off. I tripped and crashed into this display and was drenched in alcohol. Some people started laughing at me and through the blurry haze of humiliation, I heard this one laugh. It was like; it was like… I don't know what it was like, ok, I'm not a damn poet, but it was the most beautiful laugh I had ever heard. I looked up and there she was, standing over me, laughing at me so hard that she started to cry." He actually stopped frying the bacon, staring into space with a blissed out look on his face. "I fell in love then and there."

I snorted and rolled my eyes, nudging him in the stomach. "You say that every time, Jess. What makes this time so different?"

He nudged me back, looking affronted. "I'm being serious this time, Mill! This isn't like the other ones – this time it feels different."

I gave a long-suffering sigh, shaking my head at him. I was pretty sure this was _just_ like every other time. Jesse fell in and out of love like the tide comes and goes. He sees a girl, becomes blinded by infatuation and spends every minute of every day for a few weeks doing nothing but obsessing over her and following her around like a lost puppy before he eventually gets bored and moves on. It happens every few months like clockwork – this time was no different. Jesse was in love with idea of being in love and, in my opinion, had yet to experience the reality of it – not that I was much different.

Sometimes, Jesse left the girl with a broken heart and shattered dreams; I hated those times. They were messy and dramatic and _sad_. Most of the time, however, they parted ways amiably and Jesse came out of the experience having learned _nothing_. One day, he really was going to fall for someone and karma was going to rear its ugly head.

"I'm going to see her tonight," he gushed, "at her place. We have a whole date night planned."

I rolled my eyes at him again but it was hard to stay cynical in the face of his enthusiasm. "Well, have a good time." I smirked, "don't do anything I wouldn't do."

He gave me a flat look, "so, pretty much everything?"

I placed a hand over my heart, "ouch!"

He snickered and then pulled out two plates. We served up our meal before sitting at the table, joking and teasing each other.

We tried to spend the afternoon productively by unpacking all our stuff but quickly got distracted. I had the genius idea of making a blanket fort and it all went down hill from there. Instead, we wasted the rest of the day away inside a blanket fort, watching cartoons and eating ice cream like children. It was paradise.

Jesse left just before nightfall, buzzing excitedly and with big, gooey lovesick eyes. I waved him off, still in my pyjamas and then grabbed a bag of M&Ms, settling myself back in the blanket fort to watch another episode of Scooby Doo.

* * *

A few minutes after the sun had set, my doorbell rang. Thinking it was Jesse and that he had forgotten something, I strolled over to the door, absently opening it as I passed by on my way to the kitchen.

"What did you forget?" I called, placing a dirty mug in the sink. There was no answer. Confused, I made my way back over to the front door, peering out into the dark night.

"Hello?" I asked, stepping onto the front porch. "Oh, fuck me!" I jumped in fright.

"Sorry, honey, not until the third date." Leanna turned to face me, sultry smirk on her blood red lips and lounging gracefully on our porch swing. Dammit, how come every time I saw her I looked like a character from a zombie show and she looked as though she had stepped straight off a fashion shoot?

"Leanna!" I exclaimed in delight, once my heart rate went back to normal. "How are you? Come in."

I stepped back into the house, weary of being outside in the dark after the whole kidnapping thing, even if I had a vampire with me who would probably try to save me. Probably.

Leanna strolled into the house, peering around curiously. "Well, this dwelling is far better than your old one, I have to say."

"Thanks?" I led her to the living and slipped inside the blanket fort, burrowing into the pillows inside. Leanna did not follow me in.

"What is this?" I heard her ask, seeing her silhouette through a blanket, disdain clear in her voice.

"Blanket fort," I chirped, "if you want to talk you have to come in."

"I am not a child nor am I am not so undignified as to sit on the floor inside a pile of blankets."

I gasped in mock outrage. "Pile of blankets? It is so much more than that! Come on, what have you got to lose?"

"No."

"Live a little! You might like it if it you try."

"I am dead, remember?"

I groaned. "You know what I meant. It will be fun – trust me."

She sighed deeply, and I thought she would just up and leave, but instead she gracefully ducked under a blanket, delicately placing herself on a beanbag.

I studied her, eagerly waiting for her response. "So, what do you think?"

"I suppose it's cosy," she sniffed.

I cheered, raising my hands in victory. "You like it!"

Leanna rolled her eyes, "do not get too far ahead of yourself."

I laughed, and offered her an M&M before realising that she didn't, well… eat.

"So what brings you to my humble abode?" I asked her, munching on my chocolate cheerfully.

"Business."

I deflated in disappointment, sighing mournfully. She eyed me in amusement.

"But after we are done talking business, I guess I could, what do you humans say? Ah, yes, hang out."

I grinned widely.

Leanna opened her mouth to speak but paused abruptly, her head whipping to the door. "Someone is here."

"What?" I yelped but she was already gone, off to confront who ever it was. I hurriedly stood up to go after her but forgot I was in a blanket fort and ended up instead getting tangled in a pile of blankets as the whole thing came crashing down around me.

I heard low, angry voices and the sound of vampires snarling at each other and desperately fought to free myself of my soft prison. It took a while but eventually I managed to escape and I sprinted to the door, red faced and puffing after my fight with my bedding.

"Leanna!" I yelled in a panic, "are you all right?"

I skidded to a stop in the doorway, mouth dropping open in surprise.

Godric stood on my front porch, looking furious and threatening, fangs bared aggressively, with Eric lurking tensely behind him.

"I – what? _Godric_? What are you doing here?" I sputtered, glancing between him and Leanna.

"What am I doing here? Do you really have to ask that?" He questioned heatedly. "Tonight was the second time I woke up to find you gone. The first time, I forgave you but I cannot abide by this twice, especially after we agreed we would talk once you became sober."

I stared at him in a horrified silence, realisation hitting me like a physical force. I had seen Godric last night. When I was incredibly drunk. Who knows what I told him? Oh god, what did I say to him? I desperately hoped I hadn't mentioned the dreams, _oh god_ , please let me not have mentioned the dreams! This, ladies and gentlemen, is why you should drink responsibly.

"Oh my god," I finally burst out, "I saw you last night? What did I say? I didn't do anything too embarrassing right? Please, please, for the love of god, tell me I didn't do a striptease?" Drunken stripteases were apparently my thing.

Eric's eyebrows shot up. "Well, if we had known that was an option, we would have encouraged you and the night would have gone _very_ differently," he purred, licking his lips. What the hell? I was bewildered.

"Last night we caught you in the embrace of some disgusting stranger, you made advances on Eric's progeny and today we find you blushing and out of breath, welcoming another a vampire into your home?" Godric's voice was dangerously quiet now, the calm before the storm.

I flushed at his words. "What the hell, man? Why are you making it sound dirty – Leanna and I are friends! She is the vampire that I saved. I mean, ok, yeah," I started to ramble, "I may have tried to seduce her when we first met but I was vulnerable and she was lying on the bed with me! Who wouldn't? I can't be blamed for that."

As soon as the word "seduce" left my lips, both Eric and Godric started growling. It was terrifying. I took a fearful step back, suddenly afraid, and, almost like they could sense my fear, the growls died in their throats. To my satisfaction, Godric looked briefly ashamed of himself, before he reverted back to his mask of anger.

"Your relationship with this vampire is irrelevant – you still tried to seduce two other people last night." Godric dismissed, staring me down with righteous anger and betrayal.

All I could do was stand in my doorway, looking at Godric in bewilderment – what was he so mad about? And then a light bulb went off in my head and my own brand of fury shot through my veins like adrenaline.

"You're jealous!" I gasped, pointing accusingly at him.

He gritted his teeth and said nothing but Eric's eyes darkened. I felt my rage build.

"What the hell, dude? If I hook up with other people, or want to hook up with other people, that's none of your business. Feel how you want to feel, but don't come to _my_ house to tell me how I should act or what I should do. I have made no commitment to you and you have no right to be mad at me for what I do with my time or who I do it with. It's not like you have some kind claim on me!" I was yelling, my hair a messy, fiery halo of vengeance around my head and my eyes burning with my indignation.

"But I do!" Godric snapped, fangs glistening in the moonlight and eyes burning with emotions a lot stronger than mine.

I flinched back, genuinely shocked by what he was saying.

"Like hell you do! What the fuck do you even mean by that?"

"Never mind," he bit out, not meeting my eye for the first time all night.

Leanna, who had been silent up until now, burst forward with a fury to match mine. "No – tell her! She has a right to know – I kept my mouth shut out of respect for you but I can clearly see now that my respect was misplaced."

It was like storm was unleashed; Godric became a bolt of lightning, burning and electric in the intensity of his rage. "Silence."

"No." Leanna's voice was low and seething. It was honestly the most frightening position I had ever been in – stuck between two warring vampires. She turned to me, pulling me away from the doorway to sit me on the stairs. "Vampires are not like humans – our traditions and cultures are not the same, nor are our social norms and ways of interacting. When a vampire is attracted to a human, whether it is a physical attraction, romantic one, or both, they make a claim on them. They do this by sharing their blood with that human."

I could feel dread starting to crawl its way into my heart, starting at my fingertips and slowly seeping through my body like venom.

"This has multiple effects – all of them desirable for the vampire and some not so desired by the human. First of all, it warns other vampires away, we can smell the blood in your veins. It is against the law to harm or drink from a human that has already been claimed. More importantly, with their blood in your veins, the vampire can sense your every emotion; feel every burst of anger, sadness, happiness that runs through your body. It allows them to know wherever you are; they can always sense your location in relation to their own. The human will also start to be sexually attracted to the vampire, if they aren't already, and will have erotic dreams of the vampire whose blood they shared. Vampire blood is very powerful and hosts a myriad of benefits to humans – the most potent is its ability to heal pretty much any wound a human may suffer, any disease, any blemish or imperfection, from zits to cancer – all cured. This is partly why V is such a highly valued commodity by human drug dealers. The vampire's ability to sense your location and feel your emotions, as well as the erotic dreams, all fade and disappear with time so long as no more blood is shared but it will take several years. I can smell both Godric's and Eric's blood in you right now."

I felt like I was going to be sick. I was angry, so angry, but deeper than that, more hurtful than that, I felt _betrayed._ I felt violated and used; stupid and gullible and that stung more than anything else could. I felt tears gather and well up in my eyes but I forced them back, determined not to let them see me cry. I wouldn't give them that much.

God, I was so stupid. I wasn't too broken up over Eric, somehow, I had expected something like this from him – it didn't make me any less angry nor did it make it any more right but I didn't feel like such a fool. But Godric, oh, _Godric_ , I had trusted him. I had believed in him, and hoped for him, longed for him, even, and now I felt like such a idiot.

I looked up and was shocked to see the two vampires stagger under the weight of my stare. And then I remembered that they could feel everything I did. They were staggering from the intensity of my emotions and that pissed me off all over again.

"I don't want to see either of you ever again." I whispered, standing tall and strong. My mother would be proud.

"Milia," Godric's voice broke, like he was in physical pain. "I—"

"Don't," I cut him off, "don't you dare, you hypocritical dick. You complain and preach about how much you hate vampires, how much you hate their treatment of us and their lack of regard for us, and there you were, at the first hurdle, at the first opportunity to make some change, to do something different, and what do you do? You go right back to your conniving, disrespectful vampire ways. At least Eric gave me a choice, at least he gave me the chance to say no; but I wasn't even _awake_ when you took that choice from me."

Godric looked lost, devastated and resigned. He actually flinched at my words, like I had dealt him a physical blow but I did not feel any sympathy for him, my fury was too strong.

"Milia, please, I did not act from feelings of possession or a need to claim you, although I must confess that I do feel those emotions strongly. I only wanted to heal you. You were covered in so much blood, appeared to be in so much pain and I could not stand to see you like that."

And just like that, my aura of calm, broken-hearted betrayal shattered and was instead replaced by my incandescent rage. I flew off the handle.

"Save it, Godric, " I yelled, striding forward and grabbing a boot from by the door, chucking it at his head. He caught it easily with one hand and I snarled. "You really expect me to believe that? You really think you can fool me twice? Shame on you for taking advantage of my trust and my compassion. Do you really think I could ever believe that you cared about me? God, get a grip! I'm not that dumb. If you had really cared only about healing me then, at the very least, you would have told me what you had done – you would have explained the full effects straight away. Instead you lied and manipulated me." I laughed mockingly if a little hysterically. "And you, Eric? Why the hell did you do it? You don't even like me!" I threw the other boot at him. All he had to do was lean his head a fraction of an inch to the left and it missed. We all watched as it sailed through the night, disappearing into the dark depths of my lawn.

"Milia," I heard Leanna call. She was standing in the hallway by a small desk that had come with the house. It was old and mouldy looking so Jesse and I hadn't touched it yet, too scared of getting a disease. I ignored her.

"I can't believe you both thought it was acceptable to act this way, to take advantage of another person like that! _Why_ did you do it?"

"Milia!" Leanna yelled. Something in her voice made me stop, made me go to her.

She was holding a brown envelope, dangling it away from her like it was a loaded gun, or a bomb.

"Who gave you this? When did you get it?" Her voice was urgent, alarmed.

"No one gave it to me. I don't know when we got it. We haven't received any mail yet – we haven't changed our address on any of our official documents. Why? What is it?"

"I don't know." She whispered. "It's unopened. I can smell someone on it, someone I knew."

I felt fear start to creep up the base of my spine. Leanna gently handed it to me and I took it with shaking fingers, only now recognising that lilt in her voice. It was fear. I ripped the envelope open.

"Oh god," I breathed.

It was pictures. The envelope had been filled with pictures, of me and of Leanna. They looked like surveillance photos, or photos taken by a stalker, all of them shot when we were unaware and vulnerable, living our daily lives. There was a note included, three words printed neatly on white card:

 _See you soon._

* * *

Finally, the first major story arc begins!

Mwhahaha, I feel so evil making Godric and Milia fight like this.

I know I have presented Godric, and Eric, as very asshole-like in this chapter but I felt it was realistic - they _are_ vampires, after all, and vampires are presented in the show as being very possessive and territorial, with little regard for what the people around them want. I think, at this point in the show, Eric embraces this part of himself but Godric is definitely trying to change himself and his behaviour. Unfortunately, change like that doesn't happen overnight and I think it's realistic that he would find it hard to change himself like that. I tried to balance that aspect of his personality with showing his more vulnerable sides with Milia in this chapter - showing how lost he truly is in this modern world but you are all free to disagree with my presentation of him if you feel he is too OOC. Also, if I made him a perfect person who always acted in the exact way Milia wanted, it wouldn't be very fun, nor realistic. I want these characters to change and grow with each other, Eric included!

Its important to note that this story is now an AU, I do not intend to follow the show's storyline anymore and will instead be writing my own.

Thank you so much for reading!

Next chapter: Milia meets Leanna's infamous old nest and something strange, and spooky starts happening with the house...


	12. Chapter 12

Hi everyone!

Thank you so so much for all your reviews and feedback - there are over 100! I cannot express how thankful I am for them!

So sorry about my late update - I got a job over christmas and worked loads of overtime so I ended up working almost everyday. I didn't have a lot of energy and the stuff I wrote was really bad - I didn't want to give you guys something half-assed.

This chapter is a lot shorter because I ended up splitting it in half but I'm hoping to give you another update later tonight!

Rated M: Swearing, violence, gore, drug mention, references to stalker behaviour.

As always, constructive criticism is welcome!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

One month. It had been one month since I had received those photos. It had been one month since my relationship with Godric had disintegrated into a pile of ash.

"Truck Twelve. Squad Five. Ambulance Twenty. Multiple vehicle accident. W Court Street, US-167, US-84."

The loud, blaring voice of the emergency call dragged me from my thoughts, startling me. Jesse caught my reaction and grinned, poking me teasingly in the stomach.

"Off in your own world there, Mill?" He joked, striding over to our truck and passing me my gear.

I stuck my tongue out at him, swapping my boots for a more fireproof pair. "Yeah, it was a world without you and, let me tell you, it was beautiful."

Jesse clutched his heart dramatically and we both clambered up onto the truck, bickering with each other. I pushed all thoughts of Godric, of vampires, of threats to my well-being from my mind and instead focused on the job. It was a desperately needed reprieve.

The only time I wasn't anxious and living in crippling fear and paranoia was when we were on call. Every minute of every day for the past month, I had been looking over my shoulder, peering into the shadowy corners of rooms, sleeping with a knife by my bed. It felt like there were unseen eyes on me at all times, watching me, waiting, ready to strike when I am at my most vulnerable, when I let my guard down, so I never did. Even in my sleep I was haunted by these ghosts, these phantoms; the people watching me.

I was constantly tense and frustrated, snapping at people over stupid stuff and crying at minor inconveniences. I was sure that most of the Firehouse thought I was pregnant or suffering some kind of mental break. The only reason I could even sleep at night was because Leanna kept guard, spending all her evenings watching over me with a silent determination. My friendship with Leanna was the only positive thing that had come out of this whole mess and I clung to it like it was my only lifeline, because it was.

I didn't understand why Leanna was protecting me with such ferocity but I wasn't about to question it in fear of driving her away. At first I figured it was because she felt she owed me after I saved her life but now I liked to think it was because we were genuine friends. The threats we now both faced had bound us together.

Sometimes, however, sometimes Leanna drove me mad. For the first week after opening that letter she had refused to leave my side. Even going as far as to follow me into the bathroom. The only reason she had stopped was because I had threatened to rescind her invitation into my home. I still couldn't leave the house without her and the only alone time I got was when I was travelling to and from work. It was driving me mad but I knew it was because she cared so I always let it go.

I had a feeling, however, that she wasn't telling me something, something important. Every time I asked her why she was so protective of me she would get this haunted look in her eye and change the subject. I never pushed for an answer, sensing that whatever it was, she would tell me in her own time.

I was dragged from my musings about Leanna when our truck pulled up at the accident. Immediately, we all started assessing the situation, deciding within seconds the most dangerous areas and who on the scene needed urgent attention. Jesse and I were sent to a car in the centre of the wreckage with a dazed and confused family trapped inside. We nodded to each other and got to work, gathering the tools we would need to pry the doors open or off their hinges if they were too damaged to open.

Jesse was clueless about everything going on. I hadn't told him, or anyone, for that matter, about the trouble I was in. I knew that if I told even just one person, word would spread and the entirety of Bon Temps would know within thirty minutes. I couldn't let anyone be at risk because of me. There was nothing they could do against a bunch of vengeful vampires intent on murder and they would only get hurt if they tried to help. Jesse would be the worst and I could just see him getting killed in an attempt to help me.

Jesse had been spending so much time with his new girlfriend that he was almost never at home. I would have been resentful and jealous if it didn't keep him away from the house and out of danger. I could only feel relief that he was so distracted by his romantic affairs that he didn't notice my strange behaviour. It was odd though; Jesse had never prioritised his romantic relationships over his friendships before - maybe he really was in love this time?

We quickly and efficiently rescued the family from the car and moved onto the next one, a blue van driven by a moustached middle-aged man. My heart was beating rapidly from the exertion and the adrenaline, all I could think about was the rescue, the job, saving the next victim. It was the only time I felt free from all my burdens – civilian lives mattered more than my own and the only thing I had to worry about was how to help them. It was like a drug, the only time my mind was free from the torment of my stalkers and I wanted to shoot up on that feeling all the time.

The rescue took a long time but was mostly uneventful – our Firehouse was fast and efficient, moving from one vehicle to another without hesitation. From what we could puzzle out at the scene, the driver of a small truck had been speeding down the highway, subsequently lost control of his vehicle and swerved, crashing into all the other vehicles that had been in a close proximity to it. In total, there had been eighteen victims and, miraculously, only two deaths – the driver and a frail elderly woman who had been in the car closest to the truck when it had crashed.

By the time our shift ended, I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed with a mug of hot tea and a good book but that was far from the nightmare I was preparing myself to face.

Last night, Leanna had snapped.

"We cannot live like this!" She had exclaimed, interrupting an episode of 'Say Yes to the Dress', which, surprisingly, she found oddly addictive. In the way that men yell and heckle at sports games on television, Leanna yelled at reality TV. Her addiction had started with 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' and had since spread to encompass almost every trashy series available, 'Say Yes to the Dress' being her favourite.

"Um, what?" I had asked, clueless, still trying to watch the TV out the corner of my eye.

"We cannot continue to live in this state of sustained fear and paranoia. Look at us, Milia! We spend our nights on the edge of our seats because," she glanced at the television, "because Helen can't find the perfect sweetheart neckline. This needs to end, now!"

I sighed deeply. "You think I don't know that? What exactly can we do? You have already tried hunting them and it got us no where."

Leanna snarled, angry at her failure. "So we lure them out. Tomorrow. I will set a trap and we will end this ridiculous affair once and for all."

I had needled her for more information about what she was actually going to do but she clammed up, telling me it was safer for me if I didn't know more. I had shouted, screamed, cried and begged but she didn't tell me anything. I wanted to help, not sit back like some damsel in distress while she put her life on the line. I thought she was being reckless and stupid – driven by frustration and anger into acting too hastily but she wouldn't listen to me.

What if something went wrong and they killed her? What if I had been there and could have done something to stop it? If she died I might never know what happened to her – she could quite simply vanish from my life forever.

As soon as my shift ended, I sprinted to the locker room, changing my clothes at the speed of light. Everyone was giving me strange looks but all I could think about was Leanna. Leanna, lying in a pool of her own blood, or some shallow grave. Leanna, staring sightlessly at the night sky. I was terrified.

Finally, Chief had had enough. "Kent," he barked, "see me my in my office."

I ignored him, still manically shoving my clothes back into my bag. I had half an hour until the sun set. It took me seventeen minutes to drive from the Firehouse to my home, which meant I could stay for another ten minutes. If I rushed off now, looking the way I do, Chief would definitely be concerned and would very likely follow me home, potentially putting him in the centre of danger. This meant I had no choice but to talk to him; I would have to convince that I'm fine within my ten minute window.

I followed him into his office, noting that he still hadn't found the time to completely unpack everything, boxes littered the far left corner and it still looked sparse and blank. Chief sat behind his huge wooden desk, massaging his temples with his hands. He waved his hand at a chair opposite him, wordlessly telling me to sit down.

I flung myself into the seat, holding myself tightly, shoulders tense. I could feel sweat start to pool on the back of my neck and drip down my shirt, despite the air conditioning. I wanted to crawl out of my own skin but I had to sit calmly and act normally when everything inside of me was screaming at me to run back home.

"Milia," Chief began softly, "I'm not going to tell you off. I asked you here as someone who cares deeply for you and wants to know what is wrong and how I can help."

I swallowed thickly but didn't speak, maintaining my unblinking stare at the grey carpet.

I heard him sigh. "Amelia, I know you think of me as a father-like figure and I hope you know that I see you as a daughter also. It's not just me who is concerned. Did you know your brothers came to see me the other day to ask about you? They said you have been avoiding their calls. Don't even get me started on your mother. Something is wrong and has been for a few weeks now. Don't shut out the people who love you and want to help. Do not suffer in silence."

I felt tears well up in my eyes and had to choke back a sob, finally looking up to meet his eyes. What could I say? I didn't want to lie to him, it hurt to lie to the people I cared about but I couldn't exactly tell him the truth either. I settled for a half-truth.

"I'm just being silly. There was a… guy, back in Dallas and I thought he cared about me, liked me, even, I sure liked him a lot. But it turns out that he had been lying to me the entire time and manipulating me. I guess he hurt me more than I thought he did. I'm avoiding everyone because I'm embarrassed. You all say I'm too trusting and I didn't want to prove you right." I let out a few very real tears. I was crying for myself and for Leanna, for what she was probably going to endure later that night as I sat there lying to what was basically my own father. God, this whole thing was a mess.

He looked shocked and uncomfortable but bless him, tried to offer support. "I see. Right. Ok. That is… unfortunate. I hope that you feel better soon. I also hope you know that you deserve far better than that and anyone would be very luckily to have you."

I gave him a watery, but genuine, smile and stood up, awkwardly waving as I booked it out the door. My hands shook as I reached my car and unlocked it, sliding into the driver's seat and starting the engine in less than a second. I broke every speed law on the way home, gunning the engine so that I arrived in half the time it usually took.

The sun was beginning to set as I pulled up, setting the sky ablaze in a myriad of beautiful pinks, purples and oranges that I was too panicked to appreciate. I sprinted onto the porch and rushed inside, relieved to see that Leanna had yet to wake up. Breathing a sigh of relief, I sank to my knees, taking a moment to collect myself. I still had time to convince her not to go.

The door to the guest room slammed open, hitting the wall with a violent thud as a blur raced towards me. We had blacked out the windows in the spare room so Leanna could stay with me, just in case there was an emergency. She stopped suddenly in front of me and I flinched back in surprise.

"You're not supposed to be here," she hissed, gripping my shoulders tightly. "You were supposed to stay at the Firehouse, you foolish girl."

"You're insane if you think I'm going to let you face this alone." My voice was steady and calm as I stared unwaveringly into her eyes.

Leanna's glare softened. Leaning forward, she gently placed a small kiss on the top of my head. "You don't have a choice."

My brow furrowed in confusion and my eyes darted to hers, seeking answers. Too late I remembered that vampires could use glamour and a cloud descended over my mind, it was fluffy and gentle, like the sky on a lazy summer's day but at the edges of my mind I could feel the small crackles of lightning that Leanna was keeping hidden from me. By the time it cleared, Leanna was gone and I was sitting in the living room, staring at a blank television. I don't know what had pulled me out of the glamour, all I knew was that a small, whispering voice had crept through it like smoke, suffocating it and clearing my mind. I should have been scared, concerned by this new development but all I could think about was Leanna - she had gone off to face her old nest alone.

"Fuck," I sighed.

* * *

I really didn't want to be _that_ idiot, you know the one – that person in horror movies who goes to investigate the strange noise. The moron who buys the haunted house; the idiot who goes to confront a zombie horde with only a small knife and yet, there I was, draping silver jewellery all over my body, preparing to do the one thing I had been told not to do. I didn't give myself much time to think things through, to second-guess myself, otherwise I would have chickened out. Instead, I swiftly started stuffing my pockets with the wooden stakes Leanna had given me as a safety precaution.

A month ago, I knew absolutely nothing about vampires, now I knew multiple ways to defend myself against them. The silver jewellery and stakes had all come from Leanna but the silver nitrate had been my idea. Silver nitrate has a lot of medical uses and sometimes came in the form of a spray, which I had been lucky enough to get my hands on. I sprayed it liberally all over my body, coating myself from head to toe in it but making sure to avoid my eyes, mouth and nose. It would stain my skin and I would look ridiculous for a few days, assuming I lived to see tomorrow, but it would act as fairly decent barrier between my skin and fangs. I wasn't stupid enough think it would act as some kind of force field but hopefully it would buy me enough time to stake any vampires attacking me, assuming I wasn't facing off more than one.

I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders and walked out the front door with my head held high. Striding fearlessly onto the front porch, I found… nothing. Well. That was rather anti-climatic.

I peered cautiously around the house, heart pounding in my ears to a loud beat that turned my fear, adrenaline and anticipation into a dangerous yet enticing song. Nothing. There was still nothing. I mentally kicked myself for thinking it would be that easy.

It was pitch black now. The night was both moonless and cloudy, offering no reprieve from the all-consuming darkness that surrounded me. The house emitted an eerie glow, an almost non-existent beacon compared to the night that cast menacing shadows in every direction. I felt like a small island in a never-ending vacuum.

Swallowing back my fear, I took a few nervous steps out into the ocean of shadows and, when nothing attacked me, started walking more confidently. I picked a random direction and set off, hoping that somehow I found Leanna. Knowing my luck, and how much the universe liked to mess with me, I was sure I would walk into trouble whether I wanted to or not, and where there was trouble, there was Leanna.

It was hard not to flinch after every step I took; I was constantly expecting a blow or a bite or a cold iron grip. The beat of terror my heart was pounding to became a melody as the noises of the night added to it. Every creaking tree branch, every snapped twig, every rustle of the leaves added to my fear until it was a symphony and the forest was its orchestra. I had never realised just how isolated our house was until that moment.

I walked for what felt like hours but in reality was probably only a half hour. I walked until I could no longer see my house or the streetlights, until there was no more light at all. The glow from my phone, now a substitute flash light, was almost blinding in the fathomless depths of the night. I just wanted to find to Leanna and go.

 _Snap_.

A twig cracked to my left. I froze. It was probably an animal.

 _Crack_.

A branch snapped off a tree to my right. I whimpered.

 _Scratch._

What sounded like nails being dragged against bark whispered behind me. Then, all was silent.

"Hello," a voice greeted from the darkness. I jumped and turned to escape but ran into what felt like a hard chest and stumbled back.

"Why are you being so polite to it? Disgusting, weak creatures don't deserve such respect," the chest said.

"Manners are important – the backbone of civilisation, William, you would do well to remember that."

My head whipped wildly from side to side as I shone my phone around, trying to see my new companions but they stayed well hidden in the shadows.

"Who cares? You two talk too much, let's just kill the bitch and show her severed head to Leanna. That whore deserves everything she gets, defying the King like that... It's treason!" Another voice spoke, sounding whiny and bored.

"Patience. Young vampires - always so eager. My dear, we have all of eternity." It was the first voice, the quietest and obviously most powerful.

The whiny one sighed and William spoke up again, sounding disdainful. "You underestimate Leanna. Go help Jillian, we don't need you here."

The young one moaned but I heard the small puff of air as they sped away.

"He needs to work on his stealth. Go help him, William; Leanna will undoubtedly tear him apart first without you there. I will deal with the human."

And then I was left alone with the soft voice.

A loud cackle echoed around me, reverberating through my ears and down my spine as a pair of glowing blue eyes appeared right in front of me. I screamed and stumbled backwards; adrenaline shooting through my veins as I instinctively raised my hands to protect myself. It felt like I was going to go into cardiac arrest my heart was beating so fast, my body was tingling from the adrenaline as my focus narrowed down to only those two monstrous eyes.

I heard the eyes laugh again, a high, grating noise, filled with mockery and delight, and then a hand gripped the forearm that I had lifted as a shield. The eyes hissed and I felt the hand swiftly let go as what could only be a vampire touched the silver nitrate. Sensing that this would be the only opportunity I would get to save myself, I slipped a wooden stake into my hand and channelled all the energy buzzing through me into slashing forward with the dagger, intending to stab my assailant through the heart. God, I was stupid.

The dagger plunged through the night in a wide arc and I flew forward, putting all my weight behind the attack only to be met with dead air. The eyes blinked into existence to my left and that high-pitched cackle pierced my eardrums again, this time screeching with fury and contempt.

"That was very stupid but very brave. I think we're going to have a lot of fun together."

The adrenaline that had been flooding my system left me all at once, replaced instead with stone cold dread. If I had been terrified before, it was nothing compared to this.

"I think you need redefine your idea of fun." If I was going to die, I was going to die with a smartass retort on my lips.

The eyes seemed to grow larger in their fury and time seemed to stop for a moment. Then they fractured my arm. I grunted in agony but did not scream – I had broken a bone many times before that.

"Oh, a human that thinks they are strong. It is highly amusing to break humans who think like that," the voice said; I could hear the sneer in their words.

"Why don't you go fuck yourself?" It wasn't exactly an elegant or classy reply but it got the message across, even if my voice was strained from pain and fear.

The eyes sighed, like they were mildly put upon. It was a sudden shift from their earlier mania and it scared me more than the crazy laughter did – the vampire was more unbalanced than I had thought.

I tried to step back, to run, but before I could move the vampire knocked me off my feet in one swift blow, sending my phone flying out my hand and leaving me blind, with no source of light. I lay gasping on the ground, winded and disoriented, my head ringing and flopping uselessly. Realising that I had no choice but to move if I wanted to live, I scrambled desperately on the ground, searching for my cell phone and trying to ignore the blood dripping from my head. Just as my hand touched the cold metal of my phone, I screamed in agony when the eyes appeared above me, glistening menacingly as they crushed my leg. I could feel my bones crunch together as they splintered. The fragments of what was once my shin gave way under the pressure of the vampire's strength and slid up, stabbing into my calf and shredding the muscle. Tears streamed down my face and I whimpered. The voice started cackling again.

"Poor baby, here, let me assist you."

I tried to move away, to do something but I was in too much pain and I bit back a scream as they bent my hand backwards, snapping it as easily as a child snaps Lego.

"Aw," the eyes cooed, "you're no fun! I like my humans on their knees and pleading for their life. Beg me to stop and I will make your death quick and painless, mostly."

I spat at them, or in their general direction – it was too dark to tell.

"So rude," they tutted, "I suppose I will have to teach you some manners before you depart from this world, really, I'll be doing whoever greets you in the afterlife a favour, that is, if there is one."

I braced myself, letting the tears drip down my face as I stared at the sky, hoping to see the stars one last time.

"Oh dear," the eyes giggled, looming above me again, "someone is coming. It appears as though you have a bodyguard. No matter, we can continue our little lesson another time. Remember – I will be waiting for you."

There was a rush of air as they disappeared and then I was left in silent torment, my body broken. I started to slip into the world of the unconscious; my head wound proving to be too much for me.

Just as my eyes started to slip shut, I felt a strong pair of arms scoop me up and cradle me into a hard chest. I breathed in their familiar scent, finding it comforting and realised that I knew that cologne – Armani.

* * *

Ta daaaa!

Poor Milia, she just cannot catch a break! I split this chapter in half because there would just be waaay too much violence for one chapter and it would have just ended up being very overdramatic and kind of cheesy.

I left a lot of unanswered questions about Leanna and her past in this chapter, and hinted that there is more to her old nest's evil plans that meet the eye. Some of these questions will be answered soon and you will have to wait for others...

Also, its fairly obvious who is rescuing her but if you're unsure, have a guess?

Thank you so much for reading!

Next Chapter: Milia tries to recover from her ordeal but her many problems catching up with her all at once gets in the way of that...


	13. Chapter 13

Hey everyone!

So I thought I had uploaded this chapter on Sunday but it turns out I didn't? I don't really know how I got so confused but here we are. So sorry about my complete lack of organisation! I will try to update regularly but, as I'm sure it is very clear, I'm terrible at time management and keeping to schedules so I'm going to update when I can!

Thank you so much for your reviews, follows and favourites!

Some of you accurately guessed that it was Eric rescuing her - the Armani was the clue, it was the brand that she sprayed everywhere in his office while she was drunk. It was a bit of an obscure reference to an earlier chapter but I couldn't resist!

Rated M: swearing, violence, fire, death. Wow, there is a lot of drama this chapter.

As always, constructive criticism is welcome!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen**

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

The first thing I noticed was the strong smell of disinfectant. It clogged my nose and overpowered me, leaving me with a killer headache. The second thing I noticed was the beeping noise, it was loud and grating, a steady beat that would not go away no matter how much I silently begged it to.

I was warm and wrapped in worn and scratchy blankets that irritated my skin but I found I didn't have the energy to open my eyes, let alone move my arms, so I just lay there in mild discomfort.

My mind was pleasantly blank and I found I couldn't focus on anything for too long as I drifted dreamily in my half-asleep state. I had no worries, no concerns, just the slightly annoying scratchy blankets and incessant beeping but I could block those out if I tried hard enough.

* * *

The next time I swam back into consciousness it was to the noise of a man crying rather loudly. It took me a while to realise that I recognised those tears, I had been hearing them all my life whenever my brother threw a tantrum.

With monumental effort, I managed to pry one eyelid open. It hurt like a bitch, the bright sterile light of the room seemed to stab my already sore head and my eyes watered and stung at being exposed to the dry air. After another minute of struggling I finally managed to open my other eye, internally wincing at the fresh wave of pain.

Sitting by my bed, looking, and smelling, like he hadn't showered in days was my older brother, Matt. He was sobbing into his shirt, making it a damp, snotty mess.

I opened my mouth to speak and, in my mind, I told him to stop being so gross but all that came out was, "hnnnggghh."

Matt's head snapped up and his bleary, bloodshot eyes locked with mine. He stared at me wordlessly for a moment before letting out a joyous yell, skidding out of the room.

"She's awake! She's awake," he shouted down the hall, jumping up and down excitedly.

The room was suddenly crowded with people, all their faces blurring together as I tried to focus my eyes. All the noise and the movement were overwhelming and caused the pain in my head to start searing. Distantly, I noted that the beeping noise that had been slow and consistent before was now loudly beating at an alarmingly rapid rate.

In my confusion and fear, I didn't notice the nurse come in and usher most of the people out, leaving me alone with two other people. I took a moment to calm myself and then set about recognising who they were.

"Hi, sweetie," my mom said, giving me a strained smile. Her eyes were slightly red, like she had been crying, but they were dry now.

"How are you feeling?" Chief asked, not hiding the tears in his.

It took me a while but eventually I managed to force out a question, one that had been bothering me ever since I had woken up. "Where am I?"

My mother's face fell, for a second, before she forced a smile again, this one wavering more than the last. Chief patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"She's on a lot of painkillers right now, Stella, the doctors said to expect this – its perfectly normal," he murmured before turning back to me. "You're in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?" His voice was soft and gentle, his body language tired and drooping – I had never seen him so exhausted.

Somewhere, in the back of mind, a voice was telling me that I should be alarmed by everything that I was hearing, by the fear written plainly on my family's faces but a fog induced by painkillers drowned it out and left me feeling drowsy and confused.

"No," I muttered, trying to stay awake. My eyes fluttered shut then snapped back open after a loud bang broke the peaceful silence that had descended.

My mother had slammed her fists against a table and was struggling against Chief, who was restraining her, looking angry but not surprised by her behaviour.

"You stupid girl! Getting involved with vampires – look where it has gotten you! I told you stay away from them, that they were dangerous and would bring nothing but trouble but you didn't listen!" She was wailing, her voice cracking from the strength of her fury, or frustration – I could never tell with my mother. "When you're in a suitable frame of mind we will be having a _talk_ , young lady! How could you? How could you get kidnapped, have multiple attempts made on your life by vampires and not tell me? _I'm your mother_! You almost _died_ tonight, Amelia, and the doctors say your leg might never recover after being crushed like that – you're career might be over and for what? Some walking corpses who don't give a damn about you, that's what." My mother sobbing, yelling, and if I hadn't been so high I would have been terrified – I had never seen her so emotional before. The words normally used to describe my mother were cold, hard, unshakable, not this mess of a woman. Her hair, normally tightly tied back in a severe, red bun was hanging loose and wild around her head. The purple bags under her eyes made her deep, brown eyes appear almost black in the harsh hospital light. I almost couldn't recognise her.

"Stella," Chief barked at her. "That's enough! Let Amelia rest and we will come back later once you have had a chance to calm down."

They shuffled out, my mother's crying echoing in the room long after the door had clicked shut behind her.

I stared absently at the dust particles floating in the air, trying to understand what my mom had been talking about but it was futile, i couldn't remember anything, and soon enough I was unconscious again, walking in the world of dreams.

* * *

The next time I woke up, it was much easier to open my eyes. I didn't know what had disturbed me and couldn't find anything amiss. The room was pitch black, the only sound the steady bleep of my heart monitor, which emitted an eerie red light. I struggled to sit up and then winced when it felt like my whole body was on fire – the painkillers had worn off and I was painfully sober.

I groaned loudly, trying to limit my movements as I settled back more comfortably. The room was unbearably hot in true southern fashion and the air conditioning unit was broken – I was a sticky mess, making my cast frustratingly itchy. My cast…

Why was I wearing a cast? Why was I in a hospital?

The heart monitor started going crazy as I panicked, searching my brain for answers. The last thing I could remember was leaving the Firehouse, was I in a car crash? Why couldn't I remember anything?

"I will not hurt you," a voice spoke from the shadows.

I screamed, attempting to put some distance between the intruder and me but only ended up falling backwards off the bed. I yelped and prepared for the pain that was soon to follow as I crashed to the hard floor but a strong, cold set of hands caught me, a _familiar_ set of strong, cold hands. The feeling of them against my back caused me to suddenly jolt as I remembered the exact feeling of them carrying me away from danger last night.

The hand gently pushed me back into the pillows.

"You!" I yelled. "I – I remember what happened, what the fuck?" I turned to Eric, eyes wide and tearful.

He looked gorgeous, as always, and his face was set in his signature expression of no expression.

"Yes, it turns out that you are dumber than we all previously thought."

I sighed deeply, "yeah." I paused, debating my next move in my mind before just saying fuck it and going for it. I reached forward and grabbed his hand, which was resting by his very muscular side. He watched me do it with a raised brow before looking mildly uncomfortable. I stared into the bottomless depths of his blue eyes, "thank you for saving my life. Again."

He rolled his eyes and pulled his hand back, casually crossing his arms over his chest. "Don't get used to it. Godric asked me to."

My heart clenched at Godric's name and I couldn't help but feel a small pang of disappointment that he wasn't there, that he hadn't come to save me, which was beyond fucked up.

Eric tilted his head, lazily observing me. "He sent me because he wanted to honor your wishes – you told him you never wanted to see him again and he respected your decision."

I didn't know what to do with that information so I just raised my brow back at Eric. "I also said I didn't want to see _you_ again."

"We can't always get what we want and I'm not as considerate as Godric."

To both our surprise I let out a small huff of laughter, eyeing him with amusement. "Well, thanks for not being so considerate."

"Do not think this makes us friends – I don't do friendship."

It was my turn to roll my eyes at him, "of course not."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in our own thoughts. I couldn't stop thinking about that night, that vampire – their eyes were burned into the back of my mind, behind my eyelids, every time I shut them I could see them looming over me. What had they been talking about? Defying the king? What king? And Leanna… Leanna!

I abruptly sprang up, gripping Eric's hands intently, my eyes wild with panic and fear. "Leanna! What happened to Leanna? Did she survive?"

Eric studied for me moment, searching my eyes for something, although I had no idea what it was. "She did. It seems there was a lot she was not telling us. She is with Godric now. Foolish woman shouldn't have let you anywhere near her old nest."

"Hey," I spoke up in defense of her, "she tried to stop me! She glamoured me and everything! It just… wore off I guess."

Eric's eyes narrowed. "What? Glamour doesn't just wear off – explain what happened."

I thought back to that night but it was all very blurry, from both the pain medication and the trauma, my mind didn't want me to remember. "I don't – I can't – wait," I gasped, as something came back to me, "there was a voice!"

"A voice?" He sounded skepitcal.

"Yeah, it was all smoky and hoarse and it started whispering to me. It pushed the glamour out of my mind really slowly, like it was suffocating it, until it was all gone. There was no one there so I thought I had just imagined it."

"No, unless you have latent supernatural abilities we do not know about, humans cannot reverse the effects of glamour once they have been under it. This was something else."

My heart started racing as fear settled deep into my bones again, tears welling up in my eyes. "What is happening? Why is all this bad stuff happening to me? I just want to do my job and eat M&Ms in peace."

Eric stared at me impassively, heaving a dramatic sigh like my emotions were an irritating inconvenience to him. "You are lucky Godric likes you and sees some worth in you, otherwise you would be long dead."

This just made me more upset and I started to quietly cry. "You think I don't know that? This whole situation is so fucked up, oh my god. And my leg is useless now – it will take me months to recover and even then it may never fully heal. I might not ever be a fire-fighter again!" I think I could have mostly handled anything that was thrown at me as long as I got to be a fire-fighter but I had lost the one thing I had ever really cared about, I could see all my dreams, my entire identity, crumbling before my eyes.

And then, because I was so distraught, and obviously not thinking, I flew forward and onto Eric, wrapping my arms around his waist and clinging to him as he stood there in quiet surprise. I don't know why I did it, chalk it up to the remaining painkillers in my system, or maybe I was just suicidal but to my shock, and his own apparently, Eric let me do it. He was rigid and stiff at first, just standing there like a hulking mountain but after a while I felt his arms hesitantly curl around me. He was blissfully cool in the suffocating heat of the hospital room and I could feel the toned muscles of his abdomen under the cheek pressed to his chest, held taut, restraining an unbelievable amount of power. I don't know how long we stayed like that as I sat there and cried while he held me but it was so soothing and desperately needed. My whole life had become a tale of disaster and woe in such a short amount of time. I cried for myself, I cried for Leanna, I cried for the whole world, at what a state it was in. It felt too much for one person.

Eventually I pulled away, wiping my tears on the shitty hospital gown. Eric let me go and looked at the large tear stained wet patch on his shirt with disgust. "Ugh, human, if I had not promised Godric that I would ensure you are emotionally and physically in good condition, you would be dead for getting your disgusting human fluids on me. Why is it you feel the need to burden _me_ with your emotions – this is the second time you have broken on me, why not shout and cry on Godric?"

"Ok, first of all, disgusting human fluids? You regularly have sex with humans, which involves fluids _way_ more icky than tears, get some perspective, man. Secondly, I'm not in good emotional condition at all, like did you forget the complete mental breakdown I literally just had on you about the fact that I might never physically recover from this?" I rolled my eyes. "Lastly, I cry on you because I don't really care about your opinion, I guess." I looked away – it wasn't _entirely_ true.

Eric quirked a brow, "fair enough." He moved over to the other side of the room, lounging in one of the rickety chairs set aside for guests. "What do you know about the vampires who attacked you? What did they say?"

I thought back to the incident, trying to remember anything we could use. "I didn't really get much – they were mostly taunting me. There were three of them. The one who was in charge is the one who attacked me after they sent the other two away – I think they were the oldest one? The youngest seemed to be very new, one of the others said that they needed to work on their stealth? They were sent to go help someone named Jillian, I think. The last vampire was called William. It was dark so I didn't see anything but the one who attacked me had blue eyes, really, really blue eyes."

Eric nodded. "I will pass this on to Godric, he made it a point to know the name of every vampire in his area so he should be able to identify them. Was there anything else?"

I felt like there was, like I was forgetting something really important. "I don't think so?" I thought some more. "Oh wait! It was really weird, the young one said something about presenting my severed head," Eric's eyes flashed, "to Leanna to teach her a lesson for pissing off a – a king? Or someone? Maybe it wasn't a king, I'm not sure, maybe I was hearing things wrong."

Eric's eyes had gone flat and hard and he was clenching his jaw. "No, that sounds right." He didn't elaborate.

"Seriously? Enough with the mysterious bullshit already! I get it – vampires are cool and enigmatic and you make a little pinky promise blood pact not to tell anyone anything about your super top secret ways but I am done sitting in the dark—" I paused and the two of us glanced around the dark room I was clearly sitting in, " _figuratively_. I am done figuratively sitting in the dark. I need to know what's happening! I wouldn't get into half the shitty situations I do if you guys fucking told me stuff – its actually dangerous for me not to know! Either you vampires leave me the hell alone or you start telling me shit – none of this half-assed bullshit – y'all keep saying you will keep me safe and then don't give me the information I need to do that!" I glowered at Eric, arms crossed over my chest. My rant would have looked so much better if I didn't have a bandage wrapped around my head and several casts on, but I was working with what I had.

Eric tilted his head to the side, regarding me with a calculating look. "No."

My jaw dropped. "No?"

"I'm not obligated to tell you anything."

My eyes were so wide I could almost see beyond the visible color spectrum to a new, undiscovered color. Damn, Eric was _cold_. I got angry. Again. "And I'm not saying you are! But if you don't want to tell me anything then you and you're vampire buddies can get out of my face for good because this lack of information has almost cost me my life multiple times. I'm not asking for your life story or deepest, darkest secrets, I'm asking to be told what is actually going the fuck on!"

Eric leaned forward, eyes aflame but expression empty. "You will speak to me respectfully or not at all – I am very skilled in the art of removing tongues. Anyway, I don't think your tiny human brain could understand all the details even if I did tell you."

My pulse jumped and I clenched my teeth, trying to reign in my temper. "Why would I speak to you respectfully when you don't treat me with the same courtesy you are demanding? Saving my life when I did not ask you to does not mean you get to treat me any way you want to, nor does it mean I have to bend to your will. I'm grateful you saved my life and I do appreciate it but I'm not a servant and you aren't my master. If giving me the information I need is too difficult then. Leave. Me. The. Hell. Alone."

Eric was looming over me in less than a second, holding my jaw in a tight grip. "You are assuming that vampires operate in the same way humans do. We don't. I can treat you in any manner I please because I _can_ and you are powerless to stop me." He grinned, a wild and dangerous flash of his teeth that had no hint of warmth. "You talk of respect and other silly notions, human ideals, but the only two values that matter in this world are power and fear – you should remember that if you want to survive."

I glared mutinously up at him, caught between incandescent rage, and strangely, a sense of pity. What a lonely existence he had lived, to believe that about the world. His grip got tighter, and too late I remembered he could feel everything I was.

"You are a strange little thing, pitying the monster who holds your life in his hands." He spoke softly, which only made him scarier, I could hear the simmering ice behind his words – to put it simply, I had really pissed him off. "Know this, Amelia," his grip became painfully tight and I was afraid he would crush my jaw underneath his hands, "I do not need your pity, nor do I want it. It disgusts me. If you dare feel this for me again, I _will_ kill you. Understood?"

I continued to glare at him but couldn't stop the chill that had slipped down my spine at his words. With Eric, for every step we took forward, we always took two back.

"I said," his grip became agonisingly tight, "understood?"

Unfortunately for him, someone had literally just tried to murder me less than twenty-four hours ago; my tolerance for pain and fear had gone up to a recklessly dangerous level.

I kept silent, wincing but not letting my glower waver.

"You know, I could glamour you right now and make you obey me."

My lips turned up in a mocking, if slightly bitter, smirk, "you won't."

His eyes were like shards of granite, "and why is that?"

"You like the challenge too much."

His smirk was far darker and more menacing than mine as he released me, his eyes mere inches from my own. "If I were you, I would be very careful to maintain my entertainment value. You won't like what happens to those who cross the line from amusing to annoying."

"I don't care."

His mocking smile told me that we both knew that was a lie.

Eric got up to leave and as he opened the door, he turned back to me. "One last thing, I was told to offer you my blood to heal your pitiful body."

I gave him a disgusted look, desperate for him to leave. My eyes were drooping, slowly falling shut and I had resorted to pinching myself under the blanket to stay awake. The emotional rollercoaster of our conversation had taken everything out of me.

He smiled coldly, "I told him you would refuse. Goodnight, human." The door slid shut silently after him and I gave in to my exhaustion.

* * *

I spent the next few days in hospital as they monitored my progress and slowly weaned me off the drugs after my surgery. I had listened with half an ear when the doctor came in and explained my injuries to me, and where to move forward from there - what the recovery process was like and my chances of returning to work. I was young, healthy and strong so my odds weren't bad, but they weren't good either.

I stared blankly at the wall as he talked, listening to his words but not really taking them in, instead planning my trip home and the things I would need. In the back of my mind I knew I needed to deal with this, I knew I needed to fully understand and process my reality but I was, and always have been, a firm believer in avoiding my emotions and instead I created a mental wall that stopped me from thinking about everything.

I took the wall a step further by refusing to see visitors, disallowing my family and friends access to my room. The nurses tsked and sighed at me but they couldn't disobey my clear instructions that I didn't want to see anyone. I knew my mom was going to tear me apart the next time I saw her but I just couldn't deal with her trauma on top of my own. I knew I was being cowardly and selfish but I was tired, so, so tired, I just wanted a few more days of relative peace before my world imploded.

The tragically ironic thing though, was that the one person I wanted to see was the one person who didn't come. Jesse hadn't even sent me a text to ask if I was all right and hadn't picked up any of my calls. I didn't believe that he was purposely avoiding me and figured he just hadn't heard the news yet. It still hurt.

I spent all my time sleeping. It was a way to recover, yes, but mostly I did it to stave off the inevitable crushing reality of my life and the morbid thoughts that were constantly at the back of mind. In sleep, they were silent.

After five days in the hospital I was finally released, needing to be pushed in a wheelchair due to both my arms and a leg being entombed in casts. I deliberately asked to be discharged as early as possible in the day, having clocked onto my family's routine and figured out a way to avoid them. They would go to work in the morning and then arrive at the hospital mid-afternoon to spend the next few hours trying to strong-arm their way into my room before visiting hours shut. Let it be known that the Kents never give up.

A nurse wheeled me down to the hospital entrance where I was greeted by a blast of hot air and unrelenting sun. I winced and bid goodbye to her after she settled me into a cab, fussing over me and grumbling about my pig-headed decision to go home on my own, without my family's assistance. I settled back into my seat and focused on staying awake on the drive home. The cab driver sensed that I wasn't in a very talkative mood and kept his questions to himself, kindly wheeling me into my house after dropping me off. I thanked him and made sure to give him a huge tip before sighing with relief once I was alone.

I was hungry but first I desperately needed a shower. Trying to use a wheelchair was fucking difficult and I almost gave up after only five minutes. It took me a lifetime to reach the downstairs bathroom and the only reason I actually got there was pure spite. I tried to turn on the shower, then realised I couldn't get my casts wet and instead filled the bath before wrapping them in plastic bags and awkwardly sliding into the bubbly tub. It took me an hour to wash my hair and get to a level of cleanliness that I was happy with. Manoeuvring my hair in the water without submerging my casts was the most infuriating experience of my life and I thanked the universe that I had no neighbours - my screams of frustration would definitely have earned me a noise complaint.

After my shower, I made a sandwich before wheeling over to the sofa and curling up on it to sleep. The only thing I could take from that day was that casts were literal demon spawn and existed to spite me and everything good in this world. I was so exhausted and fed up with the day that I didn't notice the shadow by the fireplace, flickering in and out of existence as the sunlight danced across the wall.

* * *

The strong smell of burning woke me up. Coughing and spluttering, I tried to sit up and my eyes watered and burned from the thick blanket of smoke that had enveloped me - and the living room.

Tears of pure terror and frustration streamed down my face at the universe's massive fuck you. The irony of a fire fighter dying in a fire was not lost on me. I dropped to the floor, keeping low and bringing my top up to cover my nose and mouth.

The living room was ablaze, orange flames curled around the walls and furniture like a lover's deadly embrace. It cast a brilliant orange glow in the murky cloud of smoke and allowed me to assess which doorway was safe to leave through.

I knew what I needed to do. The plan was to crawl past the couch, out of the living room and into the hallway before exiting the building through the front door – my closest escape route. I put one arm forward and promptly collapsed, smacking my face on the floor, my weight too much for my weakened arm. I tried again and this time made it one step before my arms gave out again. Three of my four limbs were essentially uselessly, the casts bulky and heavy and getting in the way while my bones refused to hold my weight. The realisation that I couldn't crawl away constricted my throat, my chest, my breathing. I was going to die here.

I could feel the heat of the fire licking my body from behind, edging closer and closer, excited to consume me, to devour me. I tried dragging myself away, using my one good leg as a kind lever to push myself to safety. I slowly started to inch forwards, scrabbling against the wooden floors that offered no grip.

I had never felt panic like this, even when facing those vampires. At least then I had been able to _try_ to fight back, even if it didn't do anything, I could face my end defiantly and bravely but here, desperately trying to crawl my way to freedom, I felt powerless in a way I never had before. I knew my death would be agonising and slow; it would be meaningless and useless, unheroic. I was going to die alone and in pain because I was too slow, because my body wouldn't cooperate. The worst thing was the knowledge that only days ago I could have escaped; if my body hadn't been so broken I would have made it.

The smoke was burning my chest, my eyes, my throat. I could feel it slowly suffocating me, replacing the oxygen in my blood and slowing me even more – maybe it would kill me before the flames did. My vision started to fade in and out as I left the living room and caught a glimpse of the open front door. Outside I could see silhouettes pacing restlessly in a blur, screaming my name, but they couldn't help me all the way out there.

I tried desperately to reach the door, stretching my hands forward as my body gave out on me, leaving me less than a metre from safety. The smoke inhalation had been too great and it had taken the last of my strength with it.

As I lay there, the world fading away around me, everything seemed to go silent, almost peaceful. The orange light from the fire could almost be the orange light of a sunset to my blurry vision and I smiled serenely as the fight left me, my oxygen starved brain fooled into believing I was comfortable and sleepy. I smiled. My eyes slid shut. Then the pain started.

I cannot describe the pure agony of what it feels like to burn alive, so I am not even going to try. I thought that the pain of my skin alight with flame would be the worst part, but it was actually the feeling of my skin melting that was the true torment. I was being eaten alive by hell itself and there was nothing serene or peaceful about it.

Just as I felt the mercifully cool kiss of death brush my forehead in a soft, butterfly kiss the pain abruptly stopped. Everything stopped.

Outside I could hear the whizzing of the crickets. I could smell the old wood of my floorboards and vanilla of my body wash. Then the shouts of whoever was out outside pierced my ears and my own tormented screams joined theirs as my senses slowly came back.

My screams cut off abruptly as I held my breath in confusion and terror, staring at my unburnt house, the living room exactly the way I had left it before I fell asleep. I looked down at my body, remembered the excruciating agony I had just suffered through but there wasn't even a scorch mark. It was as though nothing had happened. That was when I lost it.

I spiralled immediately into a panic attack, wheezing and huffing, desperately trying to get air into my lungs, which were no longer cooperating with me. I started heaving miserable, petrified sobs and shook uncontrollably as I reached the door, dragging myself outside and onto the porch, not caring that I was making my attack worse – I couldn't bear to be in that house a second longer.

Eric and Godric stood outside. They were a mess, eyes frantic and horrified, hair tangled and knotted, like they had been trying to pull it out. I didn't even hesitate before I threw myself into Godric's arms, burying myself deep into his chest and clinging to him in a crushing grip.

I had no idea what happened, and from the looks of things, neither did they. But if they were here, looking completely _wrecked_ , it meant that whatever I had just been through had been real; it hadn't just been in my mind. I didn't know what was worse.

Godric cradled me to him in an unrelenting cage made of his arms, his fangs, which presumably had dropped out in his distress, brushing the top of my head as he rained feather light kisses on top of it, whispering words I couldn't understand in jumble of different languages.

It took a long time for me to calm down, every time I almost got a hold of myself, I could feel the flames licking at my body and my panic would restart. Godric took me to the grass, refusing to let up on his death grip for even a moment. I hid myself in the safety of his chest, not wanting to see the world around me, the world I had almost lost. After a few hours my sobs turned to gasps turned to hiccups and I could almost breathe normally again. I hadn't once left the cocoon of Godric's arms and didn't really want to but eventually he pried my face away, gently holding my cheeks as he wiped the tears from them, gazing down at me in concern.

"Are you—" he tried, but had to taken a moment, closing his eyes and gathering himself before continuing, "are you capable of making a decision right now?"

I chewed my lip, unsure. "If it isn't a big one," I whispered, my voice hoarse and barely audible but it was probably perfectly clear to his vampire hearing.

"Do you want to stay here?"

I shook my head, suddenly terrified once more at the thought of going back into that house. He soothed me, whispering in that beautiful language again as he scooped me into his chest.

"Shh, little one, you are safe." He let me go, resuming his position of cradling my cheeks. "Do you have anywhere else to go?"

I shook my head again, eyes welling up with tears.

"Would you protest if I took to you to my estate here in Louisiana?"

And that was the big question – after everything that had happened, did I still trust him with my life and my safety? The answer was yes, always had been. I nodded.

It was all he needed to hear. In less than a second I was curled up in his cool arms as he whisked me away to safety.

* * *

Mwhahahaha - I just love torturing my main characters. Don't worry, I will give Milia some time to recover in the next few chapters before I throw her into more trouble.

I would love to hear your theories on what happened and I will give you a hint, the glamour wearing off and the strange real/not real fire are linked!

Milia has been a bit of a wreck these last two chapters, and not her usually fierce self, but she can't be brave and strong all the time. Frankly, she would have to be some kind of robot to be unaffected by what happened, any sane person would have a complete mental break. Also, she needs to learn not to throw herself head first into danger without any sort of plan and, unfortunately, the only way to learn that is the hard way in the True Blood universe.

I would also like to clarify that I am not a medical professional and I have no idea what the long term effects of a crushed leg are. I try to keep things accurate but I do have a story to tell and I am not an expert so just bear that in mind - the same also applies to fires. As the fire in this chapter has something to do with strange, and maybe supernatural stuff, I also didn't think the normal rules would apply. From my understanding, most people in a house fire die from smoke inhalation rather than the flames, especially if you were asleep when the fire broke out - you just go to sleep and never wake up.

Thank you so much for reading!

Next chapter: Milia is reunited with Leanna but has to learn how to live with a group of temperamental vampires.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey everyone!

I am so sorry that I am so bad at updating. I'm going to be honest and say that I find it really hard to motivate myself and I find it really difficult to publish what I write because I always feel like I can do better, that what I am writing is never good enough and I feel guilty giving you stuff that I am unhappy with. But then you guys are all so supportive and amazing that I feel like I can't let you down. This is going to sound so embarrassing and cheesy but I feel like I have to say it. Honestly, thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart. This story wouldn't be where it is now without all of you - you guys really inspire me and motivate me to actually write and I want to thank you so much for that. I'm not going to make any false promises and say that I will update soon but I will say that I _do_ intend to finish this story and that, no matter how long it takes or how long it gets, I am determined to see it through.

Also, major shoutout to Back-To-Paradise, who is translating this story into French! I am so, so flattered and unbelievably grateful like wow, holy shit that's amazing!

Anyway, without further ado, here is chapter fourteen. Sorry it's so short but I tried to make up for it with the fact that it's mostly just pure fluff.

Rated T: language, mildly sexual themes/suggestions (holy shit I think this is the first time it's ever been rated lower than M?).

As always, constructive criticism is welcome!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen**

When I woke up, it felt like death itself was clinging to my skin.

I groaned, a low, miserable sound, sitting up slowly in a cocoon of blankets I had no memory of wrapping myself in. I blinked once, twice, in confusion before the memories of the previous evening made themselves known to me.

I didn't panic this time. I didn't freak out, cry or scream. It was like I was used to it, used to waking up with fresh new horrors to face. _That_ thought was the one that almost sent me careening into a breakdown but my control over my emotions was better than I thought – I was practically a panic attack veteran by now and it was with a horrifying familiarity that I fought one off and calmed down.

The room was lit by the soft, yellow glow of a small lamp. The bedroom was large, clean and had the signature minimalist style of Godric's last house. It was elegantly furnished, with a large king sized bed, two bedside cabinets, a mirror that almost entirely covered one wall and a plush, stiff looking armchair.

Sat in that armchair was Godric, watching me intently, his face as heartbreakingly beautiful as ever. He seemed to be continuing his exploration in modern fashion, wearing a simple pair of dark jeans and a grey sweater. If I were an artist, I would have immortalised the scene on canvas. The way the lamp cast one half of his face in shadow and lit the other half in a golden luminosity. The way it played with the color of his eyes, one burning a bright, searing blue, the other as dark and murky as the ocean.

We stared at each other. I probably looked like a deer in the headlights, eyes wide and scared, my hair a tangled, gnarly mess. He studied me with an intensity no human could ever hope to achieve. His eyes ran over my face, my hair, my body before coming back to my eyes. I had gotten better at reading him, I think, if he felt like letting me in, and the slight downturn of his lips, the furrow in his brow, the narrowing of his eyes all told me he was concerned. Worried. For me.

"Amelia," he said, voice hoarse, "Milia."

I couldn't stand it, the pressure of his gaze, the laser like focus, like I was gazing into the sun. I looked away, examining the bed sheets.

"Amelia," he said again, voice stronger this time. I blinked and he was in front of me, kneeling by the bed and angling his face low so he came in my field of vision, forcing me to look at him. I sighed and raised my eyes, staring into his crystalline ones from my position above him. He tenderly, oh so tenderly, cradled my face in his hands, with a softness that made something in my chest clench.

"Amelia Kent," he said, voice almost a whisper but firm, reverberating with a power so ancient and unstoppable it made my blood race, "I swear to you, we will find out what happened last night. I swear to protect you. There is not a creature in existence able to touch you if you do not wish it, not while I walk this earth."

Honestly, I had no fucking clue how to respond to that.

How could I say anything? What do you do when a being older than Jesus Christ swears, like some medieval knight, that he will do everything in his power to protect you? Was there a protocol for this? What was the etiquette for these situations? Was there a handbook I could read?

He smiled slightly, softly, fondly. "Do not fear, I do not expect a response from you. You do not have to say anything if you do not desire to."

I mean, that was nice and all but it didn't help much. I still had no idea how to process it. I sat there and gaped at him, mouth opening and closing and sputtering in shock.

He chuckled, letting my face go and stood in one smooth, graceful motion. "I will leave you to freshen up."

He turned to leave and I lunged forward, grabbing his hand. "Don't go," I whispered, staring at him with big, pleading eyes.

Something in him seemed to break, crumble and before I knew what was happening he was under the covers with me, limbs entwined with mine as he held me close.

I could feel the hard line of his body, the solid press of his muscles against my side as I curled up on his chest. He smelled of the ocean, of sea foam and a sea breeze, of something wild and unrestrained. It made my breath shudder out of my lungs as I melted into him and decided that I never wanted to leave. He pressed a delicate kiss to my forehead and laced his fingers with mine, holding me firmly.

And in that moment, nothing else existed but the feeling of him next to me, intertwined with me. He existed and I existed and that was all I had to worry about.

We stayed like that for hours, not talking, not needing to, pressed together and drawing comfort from each other's presence. It was as therapeutic for him as it was for me. I wondered when he was last held like this, when was the last time he lay with a woman so innocently, if ever. It was a painful thought, that maybe, in all his long years, no one had ever wanted to hold him like that and it made me press myself further against him.

* * *

The door slammed open, interrupting our quasi- therapy session. Eric strolled through, casual and confident, handsome as ever. He looked at us, cuddled together on the bed and offered his usual mocking sneer. "Cute."

I could hear Godric huff from under me, "was there anything in particular that you wanted, Eric?"

" _I_ don't want anything but Miss Suicidal here has a visitor,' Eric said as he jerked his chin at me.

I scowled at the nickname and gave him the middle finger before attempting the long and arduous process of getting out of the bed with both a broken leg and arm.

Godric, chivalrously and after giving Eric a warning look, helped me, gently guiding me from the bed to a waiting pair of crutches. I huffed and groaned and griped about how frustrating it was to be unable to move as freely as I usually did and Godric hid a fond smile into his hand when I cursed a blue streak at how fucking difficult the crutches were.

We made it to the kitchen, where my doom in the form of a blonde woman who looked like she belonged on the cover of 'Vogue' awaited me.

"Amelia," Leanna hissed, fury turning her normally grass green eyes a shade that belonged in the depths of a forest so dense and tall, sunlight never touched it. "If you ever do something so fucking stupid again I will rip your beating heart from your chest."

Weirdly, as far as "I'm glad you're not dead" speeches go, hers wasn't the worst I had ever received. I gave her a watery smile and threw myself into her arms, her body cold and hard, like any vampire's but also familiar and comforting. She smelt like expensive perfume and pine needles.

"I'm sorry," I whispered and held her closer when she pretended not to notice how my voice cracked.

After a few moments, Leanna gracefully pulled back and then launched into one of the worst lectures I had ever been on the receiving end of (which was saying something because in my short life I had done a _lot_ of stupid shit). As Leanna described in horrific detail exactly what she would do to my spine if she ever caught me throwing myself in front of a vampire again, I began to wonder, not for the first time, about her past. If she had ever been a mother. The nagging tone she used to scold me suggested she had been.

* * *

Living with vampires was not what I had expected.

Not that I had spent a lot of time imagining it but sometimes, right before I drifted off to sleep, or in my darkest, most private moments, I had fantasied about what life would be like with them.

For one thing, adjusting to an almost nocturnal schedule wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Maybe it was because I was naturally a nighttime person anyway, or maybe it was all the night shifts I had been stuck with as a rookie but in no time at all I found myself waking in the late afternoon with no problems at all.

That doesn't mean, however, that living with vampires didn't have it problems.

For one thing, they were endlessly fascinated by everything I did. The main occupants of the house were Godric, Eric and I, with the occasional visit from Leanna and Pam (who I was not allowed within a five foot radius of). Godric was obsessive with my safety and pretty much never left my side – the only time he ever felt comfortable leaving the house was when Eric was there to guard me.

It became painfully clear to me after only a few hours with them that Godric and Eric had never lived with a human before. Theirs eyes would follow my every movement as I ate, watching me in the way a scientist observes their life's work. Godric liked to inform me, with no small amount of delight, the exact digestive process my food underwent, the nutritional value of everything I ate, its manufacturing process and history at _every meal_. I have no idea why the simple act of eating my dinner was so interesting but Godric seemed so genuinely excited by it that I didn't have the heart to tell him that I just didn't care that apples first evolved in central Asia.

Something they found particularly amusing was the human need to brush one's teeth. For reasons beyond me, this provided them with endless entertainment and I had to lock them out the bathroom whenever I did it because their staring was getting very annoying very quickly.

Godric was much politer in his interest than Eric, unsurprisingly. He watched me with a soft, warm glow in his eyes, drinking in every detail of my mundane life like he was dying of thirst and only through understanding me, and by extension, humanity, would he be saved.

Eric, on the other hand, liked to pretend that he didn't care at all, that my _irritating human ways_ were insignificant and meaningless, more proof of how weak we were but it was difficult to believe him when he watched me with the same intense focus Godric did from the corner of his eye.

There were some things we did not talk about – my injuries, their blood in my veins and the whirlpool of problems that came with that; the way it felt like I wanted to rip my skin off some days from being kept cooped up like a delicate, caged bird; the way one of them would sometimes disappear for days on end and come back with a hard glint in their eyes. We maintained a careful balance that even Eric was careful not to break and the longer it lasted, the more fragile it became until we could all feel the threads slowly starting to unravel. Still, no one said anything.

* * *

We slowly settled into a comfortable routine – I would wake up in the early afternoon, freshen up, shower, potter around until they rose with the setting of the sun. At first, they had no idea what to do with me and we had spent a number of nights sitting in an awkward silence until eventually Godric had straight up asked me what humans did for fun. The way he said the word _fun_ , like it was unfamiliar, foreign and strange to him broke my heart and I took it upon myself to become the official entertainer of our small party. I would make Godric have the time of his fucking life or I would die trying.

It was unexpectedly challenging. Eric refused to do anything that wasn't inappropriate or mildly dubious and Godric simply wanted to try everything. We had movie nights and game nights but it was infuriatingly difficult to find something that would satisfy all of us. The human concept of fun just didn't seem to overlap with the vampire concept and it didn't help that I was slowly becoming more and more manic the longer I was kept locked inside.

And then, one hot summer evening, when the air had been suffocating and my clothes stuck to my skin, in a fit of desperation, I had suggested we play a game of cards. This was the single biggest mistake of my life.

"Cards?" Eric had asked, a glint in his eye that I had not liked. Had not liked at all. "Like poker?"

That was the moment my fate was sealed.

Eric and Godric played cards in the same way a general planned a war. Merciless, calculating, brutal. I never stood a chance. If I thought they were going to go easy on me or take pity on my poor, easily read doe eyes, I was sorely disappointed. They swindled me for all I was worth, and then some, and snickered when I complained about it. They had had lifetimes to perfect their skills – I was given days. Ironically, I would bet my life savings that they were counting cards. If we were playing with real money I would be millions of dollars in debt. It did not take them long to take advantage of this.

It was a bit cooler that evening – it had rained earlier that day and I sat in a pair of soft cotton shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt. The table we played at was solid and old and looked like it cost more than my family had ever owned in their lives. There was a small scratch on the surface that I liked to play with, tracing it over and over again with my fingers. The hand Godric had dealt me was fucking awful but this time I was determined to win. This time I would keep my face blank. This time I would keep my voice steady. This time, no one would call my bluff.

"How about we make it i _nteresting_ this time?" Eric asked, a sly smile on his lips.

I felt my heart start to pound in fear of the unknown and turned to Godric in the same way boats turned to lighthouses to guide them home in the dark. Except Godric wasn't a lighthouse this time – he was the sharp, jagged rocks fishermen wanted to avoid.

Godric was a mystery to me. I had assumed that the more he got to know me, the less interested he would become. So far, the opposite had proven true and in the oddest of ways. The more comfortable I got around him, the more free and unguarded, the more I made stupid jokes or patted him on the hand out of reflex or squealed in fear at a spider, the more drawn to me he became – like a moth to the flame. I didn't understand it, half the time I didn't even realise it – this strange power I held over him but mostly I found myself drawn to him too. The way his eyes crinkled in the corners when he smiled, his boundless fascination with the world and just the sheer amount of knowledge he had. The way he found the worst, most ridiculous puns I had ever heard absolutely hilarious but frowned adorably, like a lost puppy, when I showed him modern comedies. The way everything he did was thought out meticulously and lightning fast – the way he could analyse every flaw and advantage of every action, all the possible outcomes it could have and which was most likely, all in the time it took for me to blink. I was in complete awe of him, and the strangest thing of all, he seemed to feel the same way about me.

The only reason I even knew all of this was the way he would look at me – the way he would _deliberately_ let me catch him looking. Sometimes, not often, he would stare at me with a hunger so deep, so consuming and bottomless that it made everything in me freeze. Made something in my chest _clench_. Made my heart stutter to a stop before restarting again in a wild, rapid rhythm. He stared at me like he wanted to drown me in him, like he wanted to grab my very soul, hold it to his chest and never let go.

So when I turned to him, in what I thought was a small, innocent, harmless game of poker in the hopes that he would put a stop to Eric's shenanigans and instead found him giving me that _look_ , his eyes far darker than normal and threatening to drag me into their endless depths, with a devastatingly _ravenous_ gleam, I said the only thing I could. "Oh shit."

He smirked in a way I imagine the devil does right before he steals your soul, "have you ever heard of strip poker?"

* * *

Oh ho ho ho - things are getting heated.

So the fact that they avoided all the drama of the last chapter and all their problems is very deliberate - no one wants to open that particular can of drama just yet. It's nice for them to pretend, just for a little while, that everything is kind of ok.

Sorry for the lack of Eric in this chapter but he stole the limelight last time and it's Godric's time to shine!

I loved hearing about your theories on what happened with fire and some of you are getting very close and picked up on the right details but I won't say anything more because I obviously don't want to spoil my own story :P.

Thank you so much for reading!

Next time: Milia _somehow_ (wink wink) loses most of her clothing and the mystery surrounding her slowly starts to unravel.


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